I took an oath
by Carlisle Fan 22
Summary: We all know how Dr. Cockroach came to look the way he does now. But what if he left someone behind when he was captured? One month goes by and his wife decides to turn herself into a cockroach monster too to be reunited with him. Follow her as she goes through the events of the short film BOB'S BIG BREAK and the events of the MONSTERS VS. ALIENS movie. Dr. C/OC
1. Chapter 1: What just happened?

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters from Monsters vs. Aliens as much as I wish, but I do own the character Maggie.**

**This story is about his wife's point of view, from when he was captured to and during the events in the movie. I may include the others thoughts and POV throughout the movie and I will let you know when it does. Please review and let me know how you like the story.**

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_I still can't believe what just happened. I feel a great pain in my chest every time I close my eyes and remember everything like it happened yesterday. It's not fair and why did it have to happen to him? I wish there had been something I could have done to prevent this. We were happy together and now there is nothing for me here."_That was what went through my mind as I stared at our wedding picture. I still had to finish cleaning up his lab and boxing up his equipment. It had been exactly a month since that fatal day, September 13, 1962, when the US government broke into our house and took my husband away from me. I found myself feeling empty and hurt, and while my family and friends tried their best to comfort me, it was no use. The only voice that could bring me comfort at this point was his, and now I was feeling as if I would never see him again. At any rate, that is what the soldiers told me when I screamed at them when they came. I remember that day so well….

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(Flashback) September 13, 1962

"Antony, honey, it'll be ok. You are the most brilliant man in the world and I know you will find a cure for yourself. It's going to take a little time that's all!"

I sadly looked over at my husband as he sat on our couch sulking with his face in his hands. This was a trait of his when one of his experiments didn't work out the way it should have; but this time, things really looked bad for him. He no longer looked like the handsome man I married, he now had a huge cockroach head with two antennas and huge eyes. He had invented a machine that was supposed to give humans the cockroaches' ability to survive in a lab in our basement. I helped him by getting the materials he needed while he calculated how the machine was supposed to work. It took us a couple of years to get to this point and now, I fear it will take us even more years to figure out how to get him back to normal. I was still trying to find a way to cope with this change, but I did know one thing, I was not going to abandon him when he clearly needed me most. He looked at me with his big sad eyes that were still that hazel/green color I fell in love with. He still had his mustache on his face as well. He looked at me with love in his eyes and sighed.

He got off the couch and wrapped his arms around me in a hug. His raven black hair was replaced by the two antennas on his head, which were now drooping in despair, and tickling my back. His hands were still normal, as was the rest of his body.

"Maggie, love, what would I do without you," he whisper sadly in my ear.

"Probably go insane," I jokingly said to him trying to lighten things up.

We both laughed at that comment and went into the kitchen for lunch. I went to the refrigerator and started to pull some ham and cheese out for sandwiches when I heard the trashcan rustling. I turned to look and saw Antony half way in it eating the garbage.

"Tony! What are you doing! Stop!" I yelled at him.

He looked up at me in a way that he thought I was crazy. It then dawned on him what he was doing not two seconds ago.

"Oh god Maggie. I am so sorry. The trash lid was open and I couldn't stop myself. It smelled too good to resist and when I tasted it, I wanted more," he explained.

I brushed the last of the garage off his sweater and lab coat. Then I turned to pick up the ham and cheese I dropped on the floor to make us both some sandwiches again.

"Tony, it's okay," I told him while spreading the mayo on the bread, "I accept your apology. That must have been another side effect of the experiment. You did do me a favor however."

"Really, how so?"

"I was going to ask you to take out the garage, but now there doesn't seem to be much left," I smugly said to him.

"Well, I guess being half cockroach has some benefits. We would definitely cut down on our garage output and it's safer for the environment,"he said as he chuckled awkwardly while rubbing the back of his neck.

"True, though it's just a little gross watching you eat that," I said to him "But, if you want some more,honey, I would be happy to put some on a plate for you."

He nodded his head and I walked over to the trashcan to get some of the garbage out for him. I don't understand how he had perfectly good food in the fridge yet he wanted the rotten stuff instead. Oh well, my job is to take care of my husband and make sure he doesn't starve himself by working too much. That poor man would spend hours at the chalkboard and notebooks calculating so many variables and ways for his experiments to work that he would fall asleep at his workplace or on the floor. I hope he doesn't overdo it trying to find a cure for himself.

Then, as we were finishing our lunch, I heard the sound of my front door breaking down and all these military men swarmed into my house shouting orders at Antony and me to get down on the ground that instant. The moment Antony and I were on our knees; someone pulled out a syringe full of some orange liquid and injected it into my husband's neck.

I screamed at them, "What are you going to him? Who are you people and what gives you the right to treat people like this? Get off of me! Stop, where are you taking him?" That last question I asked because it didn't take long for that drug to sedate him and they were dragging his body out my door without an explanation.

One soldier finally told the men holding me to let go, he also said, "Mission accomplished gentlemen. Let's pack it up and get this guy on the bus."

I grabbed that soldier, as it appeared he seemed to be the one in charge and angrily demanded, "Where are you taking my husband? Wherever he's going, I'm coming with you."

He said to me, "That's a negative ma'am. No civilians are permitted to accompany us to our destination. Nor am I allowed to tell you where we are taking him and no we can't release him. I'm sorry to tell you this Mrs. Tyson; but that meal you had with him, is going to be the last meal you will ever have with him again. I'm sorry; but, those are my orders and we have rules about contact with the outside world."

I stood there with tears escaping my eyes as they loaded Antony into a government looking van, feeling like they had just murdered my husband right in front of me. As the van started to pull away from the house, in a fit of grief I shoved my way pass the soldiers trying to get to it. I managed to get to side of the van, started banging on it with my fists to get them to let him out, unfortunately, the soldiers overtook me again, and they tried to restrain me with some difficulty.

"You can't do this to me," I screamed at them, "My husband may be from England, but his green card and marriage to me, an American citizen and in the country of my birth, gives him rights! Let go of me and bring him back! Please, please bring him back. Please."

Then, my knees gave out as the van drove off and I fell to the ground wailing with my hands covering my face. One of my neighbors, Mr. Johnson, came over to me with his wife, after watching what was going on at my house, and lifted me up to carry me back inside. They carried me up the stairs and set me on the bed in our bedroom, Nellie said she would stay the night to keep an eye on me. Michel went out to confront the soldiers about what just happened here. When he came back, I told them everything about my husband's work and what happened yesterday, as well as, what happened today up to the army taking him away.

Michel said, "Well that explains why it looked like World War III over here and why they took him. They felt he was meddling with things he shouldn't have and took him away for it. I am so sorry Maggie. If you ever need anything, I will be right next door. Good night ladies."

"Thank you Mike and Nell for your consideration, but if you don't mind, I would like to be alone now." I said in a dull sad voice, while pulling my knees to my chest and burying my face in my arms.

"Are you sure you don't want me to stay with you tonight Maggie," Nellie asked and said, "It really wouldn't be a problem."

I shook my head and said with a lump in my throat, "No, please Nellie, as my friend, please leave me alone."

After I told her that, I curled up into a ball and hugged his pillow in my arms and wept into it.

She sighed and said while stroking my arm, "Ok, if you ever need anything Mags, we're right next door. Get some rest."

After she left, I cried myself to sleep, praying that all this was just a nightmare that I was having and that tomorrow it would all go away. I woke up the next day and found myself lying in an empty bed. I wept again knowing that it really happened. The government took my husband from me and now I will never see him again.

**End Flashback.**

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**TBC. So let me know how the first chapter was and I apologizes if the chapter was short.**


	2. Chapter 2: A crazy idea

**Authors note: I forgot to mention in the first chapter that I do not know Dr. Cockroach's real name, as they never mentioned it in the Monsters vs. Aliens movie, so I just made up the name Dr. Antony Tyson Ph.D. Also I don't own the characters of the Monsters vs. Aliens movie, DreamWorks Animation does. I do, however, own the character Maggie Tyson. Now on with next chapter. Enjoy. Note: all thoughts by characters will be in italicized form.**

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(**Back to October 13, 1962**)

How can I go on when the one I love could be dead or alive somewhere and I can't find a way to be there with him like I promised on our wedding day five years ago? I am surprised that the army left his machine here and didn't destroy it. Oh well, even if he is still alive, then they probably got the information out of him of how he came to be what he is now and they will be back to destroy it. I went to the closet to get out my camera to take one last picture of it before it is gone forever. After I took the picture, I went up to the machine to get a closer look. As I examined it, I noticed a small gauge on the side of it that said "power level" and I also noticed that it still had half its power left in it. It must have drained half of its power the first time Antony used it on himself.

Suddenly a crazy idea started forming in my head. "_ Wait a minute, they took him the minute he used this machine on himself. I wonder if they would do the same thing to me if I went in there too. No this is crazy! Am I willing to turn myself into a monster and leave my family and friends on the small chance Antony could still be alive? Maybe I should talk with my family and friends and get their input before going through with this decision. No, no who knows how long it will take the army to come here and destroy my one small chance of being reunited with my love. I will do it. I still need to get my affairs in order and let my family and friends know of my actions. It's the least I can do because I know I will never see them again after they come for me." _

I headed upstairs to our bedroom and got the locket Antony got me on our first wedding anniversary and ran my fingers over the words he ingrained on it himself. "Maggie our love is timeless and I hope to spend every moment of it with you by my side." I put the locket around my neck, opened it, stared at the picture of him on one side and myself on the other half, and sighed. I hope when they capture me that they don't dare try to take it away from me or they will have a fight on their hands. I am perfectly willing to come with them provided they, at least, bury me with this around my neck, if there is a chance they killed him and are going to do the same to me as well. I, then, got out my suitcase, filled it in with clothes for Antony and myself, and grabbed the photo album of our time together I made at the start of our 2nd year of marriage. He would pretty much wear the same thing every day; black turtleneck sweater, plaid pants and of course his lab coat. I had tried to get him to change to another style, but he was stubborn and wouldn't cave after I tried for two weeks straight, so I just gave up and let he wear whatever he wanted. The only exception I made was, when we go out to have dinner with my parents, at that I insisted a change of clothes, so he wore one nice looking navy blue suit.

After I was done, I went back down to the lab to finish boxing up his work and to cover the machine back up. It took me seven hours to do it, but I finally finished loading the last beaker into a crate and nailed it shut. Then, I processed to give the lab a thorough cleaning before I had to leave and I also decided to clean the house too while I was at it.

I said to myself, "I may be going to my death, but I'm going with a clean house on my conscience."

It then took me two hours to clean the lab and I decided to head upstairs to make myself dinner before going to bed.

"I guess I can clean the house tomorrow when I have more energy, right now I'm exhausted." I said to myself.

I got out some Campbell's Chicken Noodle soup out of the pantry and poured it into a pot to cook. Thirty minutes later, it was ready and I went to set the table. I had subconsciously grabbed two bowls and when I finish setting the table, I realized I had set a place for Antony out of habit. Then I remembered that he wasn't there with me anymore and that caused the pain in my heart to start again. I decided to leave it there and just poured myself a bowl before setting the rest of it in the refrigerator for lunch tomorrow. Ever since he was taken, I had been eating less and less food so I knew only one bowl would be enough to fill me up. After I finished eating, I gathered up all the dishes to rinse them and set them into the dishwasher he made for me.

"Why waste good money trying to buy one and have to pay someone to come out and installing it for you, when I can build one for you and install it myself for free." He argued with me when I brought up the topic of wanting one for the house.

I will admit that his machine did last longer than the ones our neighbors bought at the store and it still works after three years of use. I know that his bowl was already clean, but I still cleaned it with my dishes together out of force of habit. While the washer was running, I decide to watch a little T.V. until it was finished. I turned on the set and the channel that I turned to, after warming up, was starting to show a movie. After the production credits were through, the title of movie turned out to be THE FLY of all things. After seeing the title, I jumped off the couch, ran to the set and turned the knob to another channel because there was no way I was going to watch that when I was already in a horror story myself. I settled for a watching a Three Stooges marathon that appeared to be playing today. I always found them hilarious and it helped to take my mind off things for a while. An hour passed and the machine signaled that the dishes were cleaned and dry; I got off the couch and pushed a button on the machine for it to open up. When I finished putting the dishes back in their proper place, I decided that I would turn in early so that I could be well rested for cleaning the house tomorrow morning. I headed up stairs to our bedroom, changed into my nightgown and settled into bed with his picture turned to face me so it would be like he would be there to greet me in the morning like he used to.

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**Please review and let me know whether you liked the story or not. **


	3. Chapter 3: Taking care of business

**Disclaimer: I don't own the characters from the Monsters vs. Aliens movie. DreamWorks Animation has the pleasure, I do own Maggie, her parents and her friends however.**

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I got up at 8:00 a.m. the next morning and said good morning to my husband's picture.

After I had a shower, I went to the closet to get out a t-shirt and jeans to wear since I was going to clean the house. Once I was dressed and had my hair brushed, I made my way down to the kitchen to make myself some waffles. I set the waffle iron on the stove and while it was heating up, I set the table for breakfast. Again, I grabbed a plate and set it on the table in Antony's spot. For some reason it didn't hurt as much this time to remember that he was gone. I think the reason it didn't hurt as much is because I had a small chance of hope that I will be able to be with my husband soon and that has given me strength to endure it until they come for me. After the table was set, I got out enough ingredients to make myself three waffles and mixed them in a bowl until the batter was nice and smooth. I filled the waffle iron with the batter and waited until it was time to take it out. It only took me six minutes to cook all three of the them and they came out as a nice golden brown color. I loaded them up with butter and syrup and set them on the table with a glass of pulp-free orange juice. After breakfast, I loaded the dishes into the dishwasher, and went to work cleaning the house. By noon, I had completely cleaned all the rooms upstairs and decided to break for lunch. I decided to have a small bowl of that noodle soup from last night because I was still a little full from the big breakfast I had that morning.

Finally, after another four hours later, the entire house was clean from top to bottom. Now for the hard part, telling my parents and friends what I had planned to do. I thought it would be best to have them all together so I would have them help me box up and store all our things. I don't think I will ever be coming back to this house again; however, if there is a chance, I do get out; I will still have my stuff waiting for me no matter how many years I am gone. I went to the phone and started dialing numbers.

RING, RING, RING click

"Hello" my mother answered.

"Hi mom. It's me." I said.

"Hi sweetheart," She said and then asked in a concerned and worried voice,"How are you feeling? Are you feeling any better? Do you want your father and me to come over?"

"I am feeling a bit better, but I have something to tell you both and I would feel it's not something to talk about on the phone," I told her, then asked,"Could you both come over so I can tell you to your face?"

"Ok sweetie we will be there in an hour. I love you." Mom said.

"I love you too" I said and while hanging up the phone I quietly added, "More than you know Mom."

Then I called all my friends, told them the same thing I said to my mother and waited for them to show up. The Johnsons next door were the first ones to arrive, followed several other people and after we waited an hour, my parents showed up at the door.

I said and hugged them both, "Hi mom, daddy I am so happy you came."

"Happy to see you too, baby girl," Dad said, then he asked me "Now what is so important you have to tell us, that you gathered a crowd, instead of telling us on the phone?"

I sheepishly smiled at him and walked over to the couch to sit down.

He asked in a panic, "You're not expecting a baby are you? Please tell me that is not why you called all of us here!"

I blushed and said "NO! I am not expecting a baby dad. That's not why I called everyone here. Now I'm begging you, all of you sit down and I will tell you why I wanted you all to be here."

Everyone took a seat wherever was available and the rest sat on floor and turned their gaze to me in anticipation. I took a deep breath before beginning my explanation_. _

"_This is going to be the toughest news they have ever heard since they heard what happened to Antony. They took that news pretty hard and I can't imagine the pain they are going to feel when they hear what I have to tell them"._ I thought to myself.

I said to them, "As you all are aware, a month ago some men from the government came here and took Antony away. I have been feeling miserable, to say the least, and I was cleaning up his lab yesterday, boxing up his research and his notebooks when I found our wedding picture on his desk under a pile of papers. I stare at it for a long time and I remembered everything that had happened. Michel and Nellie know why he was taken away and now I think it's time you did too. For the past two years, Antony has been researching a way to fuse human DNA with the DNA of cockroaches."

They all cringed and gagged at that news. One of my girlfriends Sarah said, "Ew, that's gross Maggie. Why would he want to do something like that? That's insane to try to fuse those icky creatures with us. He's nuts."

I chuckled and said to her, "Funny thing Sarah, I said the same thing to him minus the calling him "nuts" part and do want to know what he said?"

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He said, "Maggie my dear, think about it. Aside from the horrendous appearance and behavior patterns of the cockroach, they are very adaptable. They are survivors. They can survive nuclear bombs and extreme temperatures as well as hundreds of other things that try to killed them on a daily basis. If humans could have this ability, they could live longer. Families could survive accidents that occur on a daily basis and they could have longer happier life than if they had as a normal person. I feel that this is something that I have to do. Please Maggie; I need you to trust me on this. I know it sounds insane; but I think the world needs this experiment and you would be a great help to me. Please will you help me with this?"

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"I told him I needed some time to think and I would let him know of my answer and asked him not to begin the experiment until I gave him my answer. He agreed and said he would wait and to take all the time I needed to consider his offer. I though it over for a week and finally I told him that I would help him in any way he needed me," I finished explaining to them.

My mother asked me, after recovering from the news I just told, "Sweetie. How was he going to uh you know fuse our DNA with those things? What were his plans to carry out this experiment?"

"He invented a machine in his lab in our basement that performs the transformation process," I explained to her, then I said to everyone," I can take you all down there now and show it to you if you would like."

They all nodded their head and got up to follow me to the lab. Steve, an old friend of mine, asked, "Uh, he doesn't have any of those bugs in there does he? Please tell me he doesn't."

I smiled, turned to him and said, "Don't worry about there being any roaches in there now. He did have some; but I let them go in the backyard when I was down here cleaning it out and boxing things up yesterday."

They all groaned after hearing that and asked how I could stand being there with him with those bugs everywhere.

I said, while walking down the stair to the basement, "It wasn't easy. For the first few weeks, I just brought the things he needed at the door and knocked when I wanted something or when it was time to eat. I did not want to be in here at all. Then, my curiosity got the better of me and one day I asked him if I could watch him work for a while. He allowed me into the lab, provided I not touch anything and that I just sit somewhere because he uses the whole area for work and he was constantly running from one place to another. He would sometimes lose himself in his work that I practically have to force-feed him to get him to eat. I can't count the number of times I found him at his desk or on the floor asleep."

My dad asked, "Is that why whenever you and he went out to dinner with us that he looked so tired all the time?"

I answered him in a sad voice, "Yes dad that is exactly the reason he looked to tired. The last time we went out with you and mom, he had stayed up really late that night before trying to work out the plans for his machine and he only got three hours of rest before coming back down to work some more."

"Oh that poor man. It's ok sweetie. I have to go through the same thing with your father," mom explained to me," When they get their minds on a project they can't think of anything else but getting that project done."

My dad looked confused and asked, "When did I do something like this honey? I don't remember that."

Mom said to him, "June 18, 1953, dear, you tried your hand at painting. You set up a complete art studio in our basement and wouldn't come out unless it was for going to the bathroom, work, food or you were out of paint. I remember Maggie coming home from a friends house asking, 'Did he come out of the basement yet Mama?' when I shook my head, she said, 'I hope he at least comes out for the family barbeque Steven's dad is throwing for all the guy's families this Sunday. He thought that the dads would want to watch a football game or something while the rest of us hang out by the pool.' I told her I would speak to you remember?"

Dad suddenly remembered, "Oh yeah I was getting into the arts and I just wanted to paint everything I saw. When you came down to tell me about the barbeque, it made me realize I had been neglected my family and friends."

I smiled at them and opened the door to his lab. There were all kinds of boxes and crates stacked neatly against the walls, his workspace on one side of the room and one the other side, covered by a tarp, was the machine that had changed his life and would soon change mine too.

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**TBC**

**Sneak peek: In the next chapter, she shows the machine and tells them her plans to go in there herself.**


	4. Chapter 4: Finding closure

**Author's Note: Just to warn you readers that there is going to be some emotional moments in this chapter that may have you in tears. You may want to grab a box of tissues or a couple of handkerchiefs. Now on with the story.**

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I pulled back the tarp and revealed the machine to everyone. It was shaped like a cylinder standing up and had all sorts of wires and tubes connected to it from the chemistry set and the massive Computer terminals lined up against the wall. It had one button to start it up on the inside of it and the power and pressure gauges on the outside of it on the side.

I said to them, "Well this is it. This machine is what caused Antony to look the way he does now. He set up a camera there to document everything and I watched as he climbed in and pushed the button inside to begin the process. It only took thirty seconds and the door opened up to reveal he had the head of a cockroach, but with large human looking eyes. The rest of him was the same except for his head."

Nellie asked, "How did you react when he stepped out of the machine Maggie? Were you scared?"

I blushed and said, "Truthfully, I was terrified. I screamed my head off and fell on my butt and I think he might have been disoriented because after I screamed Bloody Murder he seemed to have snapped out of it. He kneeled down to help me up and asked, 'Maggie, what's wrong. Are you hurt? Why are you terrified of me?' I shook my head and told him, 'Oh sweetheart, I doesn't know how to explain this but your looks have changed and it kind of scares me. I think the best way to explain is for you to see yourself. I'm sorry if I hurt your feelings, it was never my intention to do that to you.'"

"I followed him up the basement stairs to the mirror hanging in the hall and when he saw himself he looked as terrified as I probably had. He lowered his head and said to me in a sad voice, 'Now I understand why you were so frightened of me. I am frightened of me. I don't blame you Maggie. This wasn't supposed to happen. I think I need to be alone for a little while, ok? I'm going to go to bed.'

'Antony, wait, look I'm so sorry for reacting the way that I did; but I just want you to know that I still love you, 'I told him with a soft smile in my face, 'You're still the same man I married five years ago no matter how different you look on the outside.' He smiled at me a little bit and said, 'Thank you for those kind words love; but I reiterate what I said earlier I don't blame you for screaming at the sight of me. I will see you in the morning, good night.' I called out his name again as he made his way up the stairs to our room; but, he didn't say a word to me the whole time we got ready for bed.'"

Everyone one of my friends and my parents looked at me with sympathy as I finished telling them my story and then I told them what happened the next day and I received a huge group hug from every one of them. My dad pulled out his hanky for me because I apparently had been crying as I told them everything. I used it to wipe my eyes and blow my nose before I put it into my pocket.

Jake, Sarah's husband, spoke up, "Thanks for sharing that with us Maggie. I always wondered what happened to Tony and why you seemed to be more or less a zombie this past month, " then he also asked me with a skeptical look on his face, "However, there's more you have to tell us isn't there? I don't think you would just call us all up here for that when you could have just told us on the phone."

I shook my head and answered him, "You're right Jake. There is more to this that I haven't told you; however, I thought it would be best to explain to you what Tony had been up to. The real reason I called you all here is because," I sighed and continued, "I am going to go into this machine myself and become like him."

Every one of them gasped in shock and all yelled "WHAT! You can't be serious Mags. What are you thinking, are you nuts? This is a crazy idea. You are NOT going into that thing! " at me. That last outburst came from my dad.

"Look I know this is a crazy idea; but it can't be a coincidence that he became this thing one day and the next day the government shows up without warning to take him away. We didn't have any problems with any of the other things he made and the moment he looks like a monster, he is shipped to some place with no contact to or from anyone. If the same thing happens to me, then he and I will be together again. I love that man with every fiber of my being. I promise to be by his side and I am not going to let anything, even the government, keep us apart," I told them with a look of determination on my face, "Look, I love you guys too; but this is my life and I had to do what I feel is right and this is right for me. Nevertheless, I do need your help in getting my affairs in order. I need to put all that can't be sold into storage because I don't know if I will ever see you guys again and the house will have to be sold too. I intend to go through with this ;but, I would like to have some help please. If you can't or wouldn't help me, then fine, there's the door don't let it hit you on your way out."

My mom said, with tears escaping down her face, "Maggie, if you are absolutely sure this is what you want, then I will help you in any way I can. I just want to see my beautiful daughter happy again because I know how miserable you have been since he has been gone. I don't blame you for wanting to be a good wife and if this is the best way for you to keep your vows, then you have my support. I am just going to miss you so much."

She wrapped her arms around me in a big bear hug and cried into my shoulder and I was getting close to crying myself. My dad and the other also joined us in another group hug this time it was tighter and we had to let go for everyone to breathe again.

After my dad wiped his own tears from his eyes, he held me and said, "Baby girl, I always taught you to follow your heart and to make your own choices. You have always been a good kid growing up and never really caused trouble. I have seen how hurt you were when they took him away and it killed me to see you hurt so badly and there was nothing I could do to make you feel better. I don't like that I may never see you again, but if this is what you want, then you go for it. You will always have my love wherever you decide to go and I will do whatever I can to make sure you are back to that smiling happy, confident girl I have had the privilege to call my daughter. I love you, always have and always will." He kissed my forehead after telling me that and I cried even harder in his arms.

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**(Dad's POV)**

I thought to myself as I stood there holding my daughter and trying to comfort her, "_I hope she doesn't regret doing this. Am I a bad father to let her do this insane thing because she wants to be with a man who could be dead? No, she has pretty much been besides herself this pass month and if there is the slight chance he is still alive, at least she will be with him. She is a big girl and I have to trust that she knows what she's doing." _"All right Maggie, it's going to be okay." She looked up at me with tears in her eyes with a look that said "Thank you" and I wipe her tears away with my thumb like I used to with she was little and upset.

She said, "You don't know how happy that makes me to hear you say that dad."

She turned to look at her friends and asked them, "I hope the rest of you will help me as well?"

I turned and glared at them and said while point towards the door to the basement, "You better help her or like she said, 'There's the door don't like it hit you in the butt on the way out!'"

They all were shocked and a bit scared at my anger; but they all nodded their head and said they would help her with getting her affairs in order. I don't know how long she is going to be gone; but, I am going to do whatever it takes to keep her stuff for her whenever they both get out of wherever they are being held at.

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**(Mom's POV)**

I chuckled and watched Maggie's friends as they nervously nodded their heads and agreed to help our daughter with her things after receiving my husband famous " If you know what's good for you, you will do as I say" look I have seen a million times when someone he works is giving him an attitude. It is one of the reasons I married him. I knew that he would be strong enough to protect our daughter and me, so I didn't have to worry so much when he was around. I knew he was a force to be reckoned with and that Maggie had gotten that from him. When she was nine, she mastered his glare and none of the kids on the playground picked on her after receiving that glare ever again. She got her patience and understanding from me; but, the spunky attitude was all her father's work.

I turned to her and asked, "Well Maggie what do you want us to do first?"

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**TBC. Please review**


	5. Chapter 5: Closing up shop

**Disclaimer: I don't own the Monsters vs, Aliens characters, DreamWorks Animation does, I do however own Maggie. Now enjoy.**

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**(Back to Maggie's POV)**

I broke out of my dad's hug, turned to them and said, "Well, the first thing I would like to do is get all this stuff here put into storage and whatever upstairs that can't be sold to be put into storage as well. Therefore, I need you all to help me move all these boxes and crates. Dad could you call up a storage company and have them bring a truck and boxes to load up all the things I want to keep?"

Jake said, "Actually I work at a storage company. I can call up my boss and try to work out a deal to get you everything you need."

I squealed in excitement and said to him, "Great that's perfect. Tell him I need a lot of boxes and crates, a truck, a way to load the items into the truck and a storage space. How long can my stuff stay there undisturbed?"

He laughed and said, "Don't worry about your stuff being moved or the time. We have things there that have been in storage since the 1940s. I don't think anyone is going to move it unless they have written authorization from the person or their kin to remove them. It's against company policy. They will keep your items there even if you were gone for fifty years or more. Now, the key thing is getting the rest of your things that you don't want to be sold or if you want we could keep them at our homes for you."

I went over to him, hugged him really tight and said, " Jake, you are a life saver! Thank you. The bed will have to be sold, but if any of you are willing to take the couch and/or the T.V. I would really appreciate it.

Janis, another of my friends, said, " I have room in my house for the couch and T.V. so I will take them off your hands and I will make it absolutely clear to my kids that they are not to touch them or sell them when get older. I'm really going to miss you Mags, but tell Tony I said "Hi and to try a little variety with his wardrobe. I mean turtle neck sweaters are cute but would it kill him to try to wear t-shirt for something else for once in his life."

I laughed and told her, "Trust me I have tried for years to get him to change his mind, but that man is stubborn as a mule. However, I will tell him you said that and that you guys are thinking about both of us and whatever other messages you want to pass along to him through me. Our books are going to be come with me however, because I will be something to occupy my time there if I am taken alive."

So with that, we all headed upstairs to start boxing up my things. Jake called his boss to borrow a truck and to work out a deal for my things in their storage company. After half an hour of negotiation, but he finally gave me two thumbs up to show that everything was good. He hung up the phone and left to go get the truck and the other items I requested. While he was gone, the rest of us went through my things, labeling and putting in groups what was going with me, what was going into storage, what was going with my parents and friends and what was going to be sold. After an hour had pasted about half my things were in the group of items going into storage and what wasn't going with either my family or friends was being sold in an "Everything Must Go" sell outside my house. We got at total of $120.45 that my parents added to my safe deposit box which now housed all my and my husband's money. I had all our money put into a safe deposit box yesterday since it would be a while before we would need any money.

It took three hours for us to get everything boxed up and loaded into the truck. My dad and the other men disassembled my bed, loaded it on the top of my parent's car. The whole house was a shell of the home I had once shared with Antony. The only thing that was left in the house was Antony's machine in the basement. I got into the truck with Jake to help him load my things into the storage space. The others followed us as we traveled to the storage company. It took us an hour to get there because it was on the other side of town. I got out of the truck and walked into the building to meet Jake's boss to sign some papers that entailed details of the deal and the company security policy. I agreed and signed all the papers he wanted. As soon as they were signed, he showed us the way to an empty space for me to store Antony's and my stuff. The men loaded the heavier/bulkier items while the girls and I did our share in loading the lighter items into the space. It was closing time when we finished loading the last crate and box into the space. I decided to ride back home with my parents and spend my last night as a normal person with them after I went back to my house to lock it up. That night my mom made me fried chicken, mashed potatoes with white gravy and snow peas. She wanted my last night as a normal person to be memorial because tomorrow morning I am going to go into the machine to become like Antony. I told my parents and friends that if they wanted they could come witness my transformation but I wasn't going to pressure them into it. The last looks I wanted was to see the look of fear on their faces when I leave. They told me they wouldn't my family and friends if they abandoned me at this most critical moment of my life. So, it was set at 10:00 a.m. tomorrow morning, I would go into the machine and they would stay with me until the government came to take me away. As I laid on my bed in my old room, my parent's kept it for me when Antony was gone on business so I wouldn't be lonely, I couldn't help but think about my life up to this point and I dreamed about seeing Antony's face again.

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**TBC. I'm sorry for waiting so long to get this chapter out. I had writer's block and it took a while for me to get some inspiration to continue this story. Her transformation will be in the next chapter. **


	6. Chapter 6: Start of my new life

**Author Note: Here is the chapter you have been waiting for. Enjoy the story.**

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I woke up at 8:00 a.m. to shower and change my clothes. My mom apparently had been up for a while as she came into my room fully clothed.

"Sweetheart would you like for me to do your hair for you? From what you told me yesterday about what happened to Antony, it will probably be the last time I will ever get to do this for you." She asked me.

I sat on my bed, handed the brush to her and said, "I would love that mom. Where's dad?"

She answered with a wave of her hand in dismissal, "Oh he's in the kitchen making breakfast for you. He is making you your favorite, homemade pancakes with lots of butter and syrup. We thought it would be a nice last meal you will have with us."

She started brushing the tangles out of my wet hair and started humming a song she used to sing to me when I was little and needed some comfort. Right now, I feel like I am ten years old again and I just home from a bad day at school. This is one of many memories I will always treasure most about my parents for the rest of my life.

Suddenly, my mom stopped brushing my hair and asked, "Honey, are you absolutely sure that this is what you want? It's not too late to change your mind."

I sighed, turned around to face her, wipe off a tear that escaped down her cheek and said with confidence, "Yes mom, I am sure. I have never been surer of anything in my whole life than about going into that machine. If he is still alive, then he has to be hurting. It probably is killing him to be away from me. I wouldn't blame him if when I see him that he has gone a little nuts being away from me this past month."

My mom said, "Ok, hypothetically, if he is still alive. How is this any different from when he would go on those long conference trips during your marriage?"

I told her, "Mom. It's different because at least with those trips I knew he was going to come back to me and I was going to be able to see him again. When the soldiers came and took him away, the leader told me that he could have no communication with me nor was he ever coming back. This is my one chance of seeing him again and even if they do kill me, in death he and I will be able to escape this cruel life and be together forever. I am not going to let anything keep us apart, I love that man."

She smiled, went right back to brushing my hair and said, "I know you do sweetie. I would do the same thing for your father if I was in your place and he would do the same for me. From what I know of Antony, he has a brilliant mind and if he were able to escape, he would have done so already. They must have that place really locked up tight for him not to have escaped already if he is still alive."

I said, "Thanks for all you have done for me mom. I will never forget it even if we both live a hundred years."

She said, "I am your mother. It's my job to care for you and your father and same goes for you as his wife to continue to take care of him. I have packed an anniversary present for you both. I want you both to open it when you reach your seventh anniversary."

I asked her, "What is it?"

She said, "Something your grandmother wanted you and your husband to have when you reach your seventh wedding anniversary. It's kind of a tradition for my side of the family to pass on this gift to the next child and their spouse when they reach their seventh anniversary. Seven years of marriage is a good sign of a long happy marriage between couples."

I hugged her and said, "Thank you mom. I don't know what it is, but I am happy you have entrusted it to me."

She smiled and started French braiding a crown around my head and down my back. The last time she did my hair for me was on my wedding day. When she was done, we walked down the hall to the kitchen. Dad had breakfast all set up on the dining room table for us. He made homemade pancakes with butter on them with syrup on the side, scrambled eggs and slices of bacon with our choices of orange juice, milk or coffee to drink.

"Good morning dad. Aw it's so sweet of you to make breakfast for us, but you know I'll never be able to eat all this right?" I said jokingly.

He chuckled and said, "Aw, what we don't eat this morning for breakfast will be eaten tomorrow morning. I just wanted my daughter's last meal with us to be a memorial one. I love you baby girl."

I sat down and said, "Aw thank you dad I love this. You are the best dad that ever lived. I love you too."

I put three pancakes on my plate and loaded them up with syrup as well as a side of eggs and a few slices of bacon and a glass of orange juice to drink. My parents and I spend breakfast talking and remembering all that has happened to us as well as all the trips we used to take together to different places when I was little. At 9:30, we grabbed my bags and left for my house. It would take us half an hour to get to my house depending on how bad the traffic was; however, it seemed that lady luck was on my side today because there was hardly any traffic on the way over there. My friends were already at the house and appeared to be waiting for me to show up. I got out of the car, unlocked the front door, and gave the house key to my mom, walked down the basement stairs to the machine with my family and friends right behind me.

As I started pressing the buttons I had seen Antony do when he started up the machine I turned and said to everyone, "Anyone who wishes to leave, now's the time for it because after this, there's no backing out now."

They all stood there with looks of determination and their arms crossed in a way to say to me "I'm not going anywhere." I nodded my head to them and pressed the last button to open the door to the machine. I stepped inside, pressed the button on the side and the door slammed shut with a snap. There was a bright flash, a lot of smoke that made me feels dizzy and the door opened as quickly as it closed.

"_Oh, my head hurts and what is that itchy feeling on my back? I wonder if this is what Antony felt when this happened to him, why are there a hundred people all staring at me like that? Oh gosh, the room's spinning. I need to find a place to sit before I fall down." _I thought to myself as I was trying to grab onto something.

Then I felt someone grab both of my arms and helped me up the stairs to the empty living room. One of the people folded out what looked like a foldable chair and set it out for me to sit on while I was recovering. After a couple of minutes had passed, my vision started to come back to me sharper than it ever had been before. I saw my parents and friends were all staring at me with wide eyes. I also felt that odd itching feeling on my back again for some reason.

Dad was the first one to speak to me, "Baby girl, how are you feeling? Are you feeling ok?"

I said, "I have a bit of a headache, but otherwise I'm fine. How do I look? Is it bad?"

Michel said, "Well, you look different, but honestly not as bad as I thought. You'll have to see for yourself. Come on I'll show you."

He helped me up the stairs to the bathroom and I looked into the cabinet mirror to get a good look of myself. I was shocked to see myself in the mirror, screamed slightly and took a few steps back away from the mirror. I will admit that I didn't look as bad as I thought I was going to be, but it was still different. I had a huge cockroach same as Antony complete with two antennas, two big eyes that looked human and all my blonde hair was gone. I did notice one difference between Antony and myself. Whereas, his antennas were pointed straight up in the air, mine were curved down behind my back as compensation for the loss of my hair I guess. The rest of me was the same and I didn't look half-bad, but, I still I think that Antony's experiment would have worked if it weren't for the huge cockroach head. I came out of the bathroom and headed down the stairs to my chair in the living room with my luggage, friends and family with Michel right behind me.

I sat down in the chair, pulled out a book from one of my bags, held the locket Antony gave me for our first wedding anniversary in my hand, and asked them, "Well, what do the rest of you think of the new me? I want your honest opinion within reason ok?"

"Honestly, I think you look different, a bit on the freaky side, but you are still you and I think you also look kind-of pretty,"Janis said to me, "It was a very brave thing of you to go through something like this for Tony and he's a lucky man to have you for a wife." I smiled and hugged her after she told me that.

The rest of my friends said things like, "You are still pretty to me Mags, You definitely look a little weird, but you are still the same woman I am happy to call my friend," and Jake said, 'I think you lot kind of hot.'" I busted out laughing after he said that and my dad was yelling at him for saying that to me because I am still considered a married woman. Finally, it was my parent turn to voice their opinion of my new looks.

Mom said, "You are still my sweet beautiful little girl no matter how much you change on the outside."

Dad said, "Your mother is right and I agree with her 100% percent Maggie."

I hugged them both and said to everyone, "Now the only thing left to go is to wait for the government to come here to collect me. Hopefully, it wouldn't take them a long time to get here."

* * *

**Meanwhile back at Area ?**

There were hundreds of people working in the control center at the Facility, scanning the planet for any signs of monster activity. It didn't take long for an alert to go off as it only happens when a new monster has been detected. One men working at the control panel did a series of calculation to pinpoint the exact location of the monster so the collect team could be mobilized to go pick it up. When he was done calculating the location, he was shocked at his discovery.

He got on the P.A. system and said in a panic, "Captain Monger, Captain Monger, you might want to get up here sir. I think we've got a problem."

Two minute later Captain W.R. Monger appeared in the control center and said, "All right what seems to be the problem here?"

"Sir, you might want to look on the computer yourself sir," the technician said nervously as he pointed to the monitor.

When Monger looked at the computer screen, he growled. The coordinates were the same as the ones they got a month ago when they went to pick up to pick up "Dr. Cockroach" as they now called him. He stood straight up, turned around, glared at the man, grabbed him and hauled him over to the screen.

"Do you mean to tell me that those men, the men you assigned to pick up Dr. Cockroach a month ago, failed to destroy that machine he created and left it there fully intact?!," he said in a quiet dangerous voice which grew into a loud scream.

"Y-y-yes sir. I-I-It ap-p-pears t-t-that way sir," the man said as he shook with fear after Monger's outburst toward him.

Monger said sarcastically, "Oh it appears so. Well isn't that just peachy?"

Then he screamed, "You idiots! Did you forget that he was married and that maybe his wife might be tempted to turn on that machine and use it on herself as a way to be reunited with him? Go get her and this time make sure that machine is destroyed. We don't need any more roach people walking around."

The man said, "Yes sir I will get on it right away. Attention, Monster Retrieval Squad. I am sending you the coordinates to pick up a new monster. Go there, collect her alive, find a machine that was used to transform her and destroy it immediately. Don't leave even a scrap of metal of it left ."

"Roger that. We will pick the monster and dispose of any suspicious looking machine that is in the house sir," the leader of the squad responded to the man by radio before leaving the base for their next mission.

* * *

**Cut back to Maggie's house in New York.**

We waited several hours, but finally I heard the sound of many vans pulling up the road to my house no doubt to come to collect me. Michel was looking out the window for them and said to me, "Uh Mags? There's a bunch of military looking vans coming right this way. I think your ride is here."

I asked him, "Could you please open the door for them so they wouldn't have to break my door down when they come in please?"

As he was unlocking the door for the soldiers, my dad made his way to my side and said to me, "It's going to be ok baby girl. We are all right here with you."

As soon as Michel opened the door, all the soldiers swarmed into the house and it was like deva' vu all over again except this time they had come to collect me. They surrounded me and pointed guns at me, while ordering my parents and friends to back away from me, and to get down on their knees on the ground with their hands on their heads. I just sat there in my chair with a book folded nicely on my lap with my hands point up in submission and a calm smile on my face. The way the soldiers were carrying on, it was as if they were expecting me to go on a mindless rampage at any moment.

The leader of the group approached me with caution and said, "Mrs. Tyson, I am afraid you will have to come with us. Now, before we take you into custody, you are going to have to tell us the location of your husband's machine. In addition, before you asked me, 'What machine is that?' I know it is here because you have obviously used it on yourself, so just come clean with the whereabouts of said machine and no lies."

I laughed at him and said smugly, "Nice to see you too, you military guys haven't changed that much since the last time you were here. The machine is down in the basement against the right wall, can't miss it."

The leader yelled, "Corporal Adams, go check it out and report back here."

The one called Adam said, "Yes sir" saluted the leader and disappeared down the hall. Two minutes later, he came back, gave the leader a salute and said, "Sir, the missus was right. I found the machine right where she said it would be sir."

The leader was stunned, turned to me and said, "Thank you for cooperating with us ma'am. However, I'm afraid you are still going to have to come with us. I don't want any trouble so just come quietly and things will go a lot smoother for you."

I pick up the book on my lap and set it back in the bag that contained my books. Then, I got up off the chair, picked up my bags and said to him, "Ok I'm ready. Let's go."

All the soldiers that were pointing guns at me lowered them slightly and looked at each other in confusion as if I was speaking Greek to them instead of English. I guess this is the first time for these men that a monster was willing to come with them, instead of putting up a fight. It was too funny, that I was able to bring these big, tough army looking guys to a graining halt with five little words.

"What? You're not even going to try to fight us," the leader asked with a shocked look on his face.

I said to him, "No. However, I do have a couple of requests before I go with you people."

He hesitantly asked me, "Ok, what are your requests?"

"First off, is my husband still alive," I asked with a scared expression on my face.

He said, "Yes, we have him locked up, but he's still alive. We aren't going to kill you if that's what you are so worried about. What's your next request?"

After hearing that news, I thought to myself, "_Oh thank you God. I didn't have to go through all this for nothing after all." _Then I asked him, "Can I give my parents and friends one last hug before I go with you people to wherever?"

He thought for a moment and said, "Troops release the civilians and make way for Mrs. Tyson."

They released my parents after hearing that order and moved out of my way. I carried my bags past the soldiers and set them down beside me so I could give everyone one last group hug. As I hugged by family and friend one last time, I said to them, "I love you guys and will never forget any of you. Thank you for being there for Tony and me when we needed you."

They all nodded their heads with tears in their eyes and moved out of my way out the door.

The leader came up to me and said, "Ma'am I'm sorry to have to tell you this but I have orders that state I have to inject you with the knockout serum as a security measure. It's to insure that you can keep where we are taking you, a secret. Normally, we would just inject you with the stuff as we did your husband, but in lieu of the fact, you have been extremely cooperative with us. I have decided to forego the injection and will just blindfold and handcuff your hands behind your back instead. Please try to understand that this is a security reason only and not that you are dangerous in any way."

I said to him, "Ok, well thank you for informing me of this and go ahead with the blindfold and handcuffs. Could one of you guys please grab my two bags for me please?"

The last thing I saw was one soldier picking up both my bags and headed to the van right before they blindfolded me and handcuffed me. Once the blindfold was secured, they lead me to the van, sat me down in the seat, and buckled my seat belt for me before slamming the door shut and driving off to wherever it was we were going.

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**(Dad's POV)**

I watched as they loaded my daughter's bags into a van with a big ? mark on the side of it before they put a blind fold on my daughter's huge human eyes and handcuffed her hands behind her back. I guess they did that so she wouldn't be tempted to peek out the blind while they were taking her God knows where. As they loaded her into the van and slammed the door, my wife wept in my arms, as did all Maggie's girlfriends did the same in their husband's arms.

I thought to myself, _"It's great to know that Antony is still alive, so my daughter didn't have to go through all this trouble just to be killed before she had a chance to see him. Take care of my little girl Tony. She's going to need you now more than ever." _

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**Thus ends Maggie's old life and her new one is about to begin. In the next chapter is where she meets back up with her husband. Will she run directly into his arms or will she regret her decision to become a monster? Find out in the next chapter. TBC**


	7. Chapter 7: A pleasant surprise

The ride to the base was long and boring. Maybe it would have been better for me if they had injected me with the knockout liquid after all. I tried to strike up a conversation with whoever was riding in the van with me, but all I got was silence. Then, I decided that if no one was going to talk to me, that I would take a nap to past the time. I don't know how long I slept; however, feeling of the van coming to a halt awakened me. After a few minutes had passed, I felt some one unlocking the handcuffs around my wrists and removing the blindfold from my eyes. I walked out of the van with the soldiers, down a ramp and into a hanger. While I stood there looking around, I noticed all the soldiers who had captured me stand at attention in one straight line and saluted one stern looking officer coming right toward me. As he approached me, he had a look on his face, which seemed to say, "I'm watching you so don't try anything funny".

He said to me, "Mrs. Tyson, I am Captain W.R. Monger and will be your warden here at the base. Allow me to be the first one to welcome here. Do you have any questions for me?"

"Yes I do Captain Monger," I said to him and then asked with concern "Where are you keeping my husband and when can I see him?"

"Ma'am I assure you Dr. Cockroach is fine and to answer your question as to when you will be allowed to see him, we will meet up with him and the others after your orientation. Now if you will just follow me, we will begin," he explained to me, "Oh and about your luggage, I'm afraid it will have to go through a security search first before you get it back to make sure you didn't bring any weapons in it or any dangerous chemicals. You don't have to worry about it because we will make sure you get all the things that check out back to you."

I asked him with a feeling of dread, "Will my wedding ring and locket have to go through security as well?"

He sighed and said to me, "Yes, but I can do that myself right now if you let me see them for a moment."

I took off my wedding ring and locket and handed them to him. He looked the ring over a few times before giving it back to me. The locket he opened to examine the inside. I didn't have a clue as what he hoped to find there despite the obvious pictures in it. He removed the chain from the locket before handing the part that contains the pictures back to me. Then he hooked the chain back together and put it in the breast pocket of his uniform. It kind-of hurt my feelings that I wasn't able to wear my locket around my neck anymore.

"Captain Monger, Why did you remove the chain to my locket," I asked him with a bit of hurt in my voice, "May I please have it back?"

"I'm just keeping the chain for now as a precaution ma'am. You'll get it back in two weeks. I don't know what your temperament is and I don't want to take any chances that you might try to strangle someone with it if you become angry at them," he explained to me, "However, if you conduct yourself in an orderly manner, you will receive it sooner. Any time you pose as a threat or show signs of aggression, it will be removed until I think you are calm enough to be trusted with it again. Understood?

I nodded my head though I felt slightly offended that he thought I would try to strangle anyone with my own necklace. Then, I remembered how I reacted on the day they took Dr. Cockroach away. _I will have to ask Monger why he changed Antony's name_, I thought to myself. The more I thought of how I reacted to the soldiers, the more I realized that Monger was right. I don't want act like a monster even though I may look like one. I followed Monger onto a platform, which started moving the minute we stepped onto to it.

" Twelve years ago, it was decided that the Jane and Joe public could not handle the truth about monsters, and they should focus on more important things like paying taxes," he explained, " So the government convinced the world monsters were the stuff of myth and legend and then locked them away in this facility. You will remain here for the rest of your life along with the other monsters we have housed. You will have zero contact with the outside world, so I hope for your sake, that you were able to say goodbye to your family before you became a monster. If you didn't then, unfortunately, it is too late for that now. We will provide for you a place to sleep, food to eat and all the necessities you need here. Now, do you have any questions before I take you to go meet your husband and the other monsters ma'am?"

"I just have one, I said and then asked, "Why did you change my husband's name to Dr. Cockroach? I heard you call him that earlier."

"It's part of the capture process to assign each monster a new name that distinguishes what said monster is. In your husband's and your case, you have both been renamed Dr. and Mrs. Cockroach because of the cockroach head you both have," he explained to me.

I asked him, "About my place to sleep, could I please live with my husband in his room?"

"Normally, it is one monster to one cell," he explained until he caught the disappointed look in my face, then he added, "However, seeing that this is the first monster couple we've had at this place and the fact that you have been separated for a long period of time. Not to mention that you have been extremely cooperative with us since the get go. I guess we will, just the once mind you, make an exception to this rule considering the events that lead you to become a monster in the first place."

I blushed when he mentioned my transformation and said to him, "Thank you Captain Monger for your generosity."

He nodded his head to me. Then, we got off the platform and I followed him to a door panel where he punched in a series of numbers, which caused the door to rise up to reveal a bright white room with a table and a few chairs around it. I saw three figures standing by the table talking amongst themselves and when they turned to look at us, I recognized Antony the minute I saw him. He looked the same the last time I saw him a month ago, cockroach head, lab coat, and all. I nearly broke into tears seeing his face again. I stood behind Captain Monger hiding because I wasn't ready for him to see like this yet.

Suddenly some very self-conscious thoughts began to run through my head, "_Wait, what if he is repulsed by my cockroach appearance because I am no longer the woman he saw a month ago? What if he doesn't love me anymore after see me like this? I don't think I could stand being in a place forever, with a man I love, who doesn't love me back anymore. This was a mistake; I should never have gotten into that machine in the first place. I have to get out of here before he sees me." _

With those thoughts running through in my head, I started backing up away from the entrance. I guess Captain Monger noticed my scared appearance because he cleared his throat to get my attention. When I looked up at him, he had his arms crossed in front of him and nodded his head toward the door as if to say "Go ahead". I shook my head at him and continued to back away from the door to the platform again. He sighed, shook his head in disbelief, and starting walking toward me with a determined look on his face.

"What seems to be the problem ma'am? You go through all this to be back with your husband, and now that's he's right there in front of you, you chose now of all times to back out," he admonished at me.

"I'm sorry. I'm just afraid that when he sees me like this, he's going to be disgusted with me because I'm not this woman anymore," I said to him while pointing at my picture in my locket.

He told me, "Well then, you might want to take another look at the front of that locket of yours, because from what I read on it, that sounds like a man who loves his wife no matter what she looks like. In addition, you didn't strike me as the type of woman who would just give up when she is so close to her goal. From the report I got of Dr. Cockroach's capture a month ago, I read an interesting note about you."

That last statement from Monger aroused my curiosity. "What did the note say about me," I asked him.

"The note said that it took three of my men to hold you in place while we took him away two separate times," he chuckled as he explained, "Once in the house when we injected him and carry him out to the van and the other time was outside the house after we loaded him into the van. The troops said you shoved your way past them to get the van and started pounding on the side of it with your fists screaming, 'You can't take him away from me! Let him go and bring him back!' It kind of left a bit of a dent where you pounded the side of the van with your fists, not much of one, but impressive nonetheless."

"I'm sorry for the damage I did to your van," I said to him while looking down in shame, "All that was going through my head at the time was 'They can't take him away from me. This isn't right and it's not fair. I've got to stop them.' It wasn't fair for him to be taken away from me like that when he did nothing wrong."

He put a hand on my shoulder, which caused me to look at him in the eye, and said to me in an understanding voice, "Apology accepted ma'am though not necessary. Anyone would have reacted the same way, if they saw their loved one being taken away and after being told they would never see them again. Nevertheless, you are both here together now, so go to him. I think you will find that his feelings for you haven't changed, even if your looks have. If it makes you feel better, on the outside chance he does reject you, I will personally hit him on the back of his big roach head."

I laughed at his last statement and told him, "No, that's not necessary Captain. I'm ready now. Thank you for your advice, it really helped me a lot."

"I may be your warden here at this facility, he explained, "But that doesn't mean I'm heartless."

I walked behind him through the door and I continued to walk behind him all the way to the other monster as a surprise to Dr. Cockroach.

I heard him say, "Cockroach, you've got a visitor."

I saw Dr. Cockroach raised an eyebrow in confusion at Monger's statement. I always thought it was cute when he had that look on his face when he and I were both normal. Now, it took everything in my body not to croon in amusement at the sight of his big eyes having that same look on his face.

He asked Monger with that same look still on his face, "I thought you said that we weren't allowed to have visitors here?"

"That's right. Sorry doc, wrong choice of words. I meant to say new inmate. I think you're really going to like this one, "Monger said smiling while stepping to the right for everyone to see me.

He gasped and his mouth fell open in surprise when he saw me. He stuttered over his words, but all I could make out was, "W-W-Who? Who a-a-re you?"

I smiled at him, made my way past the other two monsters toward him and said in a shy voice, "Hello Antony my love. It's me."

He stood there with that same shocked look on his face as I took his left hand, the same hand that held his own wedding band, and placed the locket in it. He looked at the words he carved into the locket, opened it to look at my picture and finally after a while of staring at the picture, he asked with tears in his eyes, "Maggie, is it truly you?"

I said to him with tears in my eyes as well, "Yeah it's really me."

He grabbed me and embraced me in a deep crushing hug. We both wept tears of joy after that, we didn't care who was watching now. I kissed every inch on his big insect like face as he did the same to me. My antenna intertwined with his as I finally kissed him on the lips. As I pulled my face away from his, our antennas gently untangled themselves and were set back at their original place. I had tears running down my face as I stared into his eyes and for some reason the itching feeling on my back returned. Then, after I brushed the tears off his face and he did mine, he picked me up in bridal style and started spinning me around the room.

"Sweetheart please, put me down before we fall down," I said to him while laughing to get him to stop because I was starting to feel dizzy.

He set me back on the ground and pulled me into him for another deep passionate kiss before saying to me, "I can't believe you're here! Every day, I have been going mad trying to come up with a way to escape this place or find some sort-of exits to get back to you and now here you are in my arms again."

I pulled out of his embrace to get a good look at and noticed he was looking at me with a look of sympathy and concern. Then I realized that he had also gotten a real good look at me and noticed my changes more closely. "Hey, sweetie, what's wrong," I asked him when I notice he seemed to be in a trance, "Are you ok? What's the matter?"

"Oh, Maggie, By Einstein's hair, what happened to you," he asked with concern in his voice as he held my face in his hands, "Did you accidently fall into my machine in the basement and that's how you came to look like this?"

I lowered my head in shame. "_I have to tell him the truth. It's only fair. I can't have him believing a lie. Marriage is built on honesty and trust. I have to trust he will understand I did this by choice._" I thought to myself as he raised my face, with two fingers on opposite side of my chin, to look him in the eye.

I sighed, shook my head and said to him, "No, I deliberately went into the machine to change myself on purpose."

He gasped and let go of my face. He took a few steps back and said nothing. Then, for a full five minutes, he proceeded to pace the room trying to process what I had just told him.

"Why? Why Maggie, for the love of science, why would you do a thing like this," he finally asked me with a small bit of despair in his voice, "You were free and now you're trapped here like the rest of us."

I looked at him with steely determination on my face, walked up to him, held my left hand and pointed to my wedding ring.

"This, right here is why I did this Dr. Antony Tyson, "I said in a stern voice while point out his own wedding band, "Love and this right here is why I made my choice. When I married you five years ago, I took an oath remember, 'I, Maggie Brown' promise to love you, Dr. Antony Lee Tyson, as my husband. I promise to remain by your side in good times and bad, in sickness and in health. I promise to take care of you, and to follow you to the ends of the earth, right over the edge to oblivion if necessary. By this vow, I ask you, will you have me as your wife, Mrs. Antony Lee Tyson, forevermore?' and you told me 'yes'. This may or may not be one of the bad times, I don't know; but, I do know that you're stuck with me and I'm not going anywhere you aren't husband of mine."

I think he was really touched by what I said to him because he had tears in his eyes as he wrapped his arms around my waist, pulling me into him for another hug. I felt my heart skip a beat as he kissed me again and a sense of peace that I had not felt for a long time. I had missed this man and everything about him and I am not going to let anything separate us ever again.

"You are the most perfect woman in the world Maggie and I don't deserve you," he said to me while he held me tenderly in his arms, "I love you too and I promise I will try to make you happy here though I don't plan on staying long. I will keep trying to find us a way to get out of here, that way we can go back to living our life the way we used to before this whole mess. I don't care how long it takes; I will get you your freedom back."

"You might want to cool it with the escape thing honey," I chuckled and said to him.

"And why would I want to do that my dear," he amusingly asked me.

"Because I think Monger heard everything you just said," I said to him while pointing to a very angry Captain glaring at us both, "And he's standing right behind you, giving us both death stares right now,"

Why he was glaring at me I didn't know. I think he felt a bit betrayed by me because I guess he hoped that with me here, my husband would have no desire to leave and would give up trying to escape. I guess with me here, it only made my husband more determined than ever and any chance of him stopping was nonexistent at this point. Antony's eyes widened at what I told him and he turned to face the Captain with a look on his face that was like a child who just stuck his hand in the cookie jar when he wasn't supposed to, and smiled nervously at him. Then, Monger held up two fingers and did the "I'm watching you" sign to my husband before leaving us to ourselves and the other monsters. After Monger left, I suddenly remembered that Antony or Dr. Cockroach, as he was now called, and I weren't the only people in the room. There was a green scaly fish/ape creature and a big blue blob thing with one eye in the middle of his face all looking at us with a confused look on their faces. Dr. Cockroach and I broke out of our embrace and went over to them so that I would get to know them. I figured that if I was going to have to live here for the rest of my life, I might as well get to know the other monsters I am sharing my new home with and to clear up any confused about what had just occurred between my husband and I in the last hour.

The ape/fish creature was the first to talk to us. "Ok, judging by amount of affection that just happened between the two of you", he said with a slight awkward chuckle in his voice, "I'm guessing that you must the same wife called Maggie that he is always talking about."

"What? He talks about me," I asked them, while looking at my husband in amusement, "What does he tell you guys?"

"He says you are the most beautiful creature ever to grace the planet," the blue blob said to me, "He also said you were an angel. Wait. Are you really an angel? Where are your wings?"

I laughed at what the blue blob monster said and asked me. He was so cute; it was as if he was a big kid that was curious about everything and completely honest. I looked over to my husband and saw he had head in his hands and his antennas were drooping on both sides of his head. I think his friends weren't supposed to tell me that and now he was embarrassed that I know what he had been saying about me. Still I thought it was sweet that he was thinking of me in the same way that I was thinking of him this past month.

I looked back at the two creatures and asked, "What are your names?"

"I'm the Missing Link or you can just call me Link. Everyone does," the green ape/fish monster told me.

The blue blob thing said, "My name's Bob."

"Uh and I'm the Invisible Man in case anyone cares," said a voice that came from nowhere, and then he asked, "So, you must be the lovely Maggie we've heard so much about? Enchanted to meet you Madame."

Then I felt my right hand being lifted and kissed by someone. It surprised me and I was speechless you a moment. I didn't expect anyone else to be in here with us and I felt my husband put a protective arm around me, glaring at wherever the voice was last heard.

"Oh I'm sorry. I didn't know there was anyone else here besides Link, Bob and my husband." I said to the Invisible Man, wherever he was, "But yes, I'm his wife Maggie."

"So you turned yourself into a monster to be with him again," he asked with amusement in his voice, "Wow you must really love this nutso here to do something crazy like that."

I was a little offended at him calling my husband crazy. I had already gone through this with my friends and I didn't need it from even as invisible man, I had never even met before until today, too.

"Hey don't call him that." I snapped at him, "It's wasn't like he meant for us both to become half roach people! It was just an accident that occurred twice and this isn't as bad as it looks. Besides, I am sure there are lots of advantages to us looking like this right Dr. Cockroach?"

I didn't want Link and the Invisible man to give him a hard time for knowing his real name. Therefore, when we are with the others he's Dr. Cockroach, but only around me, he is still Dr. Antony Lee Tyson, the man I married five years ago. He looked at me with one raise eyebrow at me calling him by his monster name, but then he proceeded to answering my question.

"Yes, **Mrs. Cockroach**," he said to everyone since I guess he figured out my plan for addressing him in mixed company, "there are many advantages to this as I have found out during my stay here this past month. For example, as I know you have unfortunately witnessed for yourself back our old home, I can consume vast amount of garbage as well as normal food. I can also climb up walls and along ceilings. The last thing I have noted about my change, which I am happy to report, is I am impervious to lot of things that would kill a normal human being. In other words, my experiment to give humans the cockroach's ability to survive as a success and my machine worked in a way, just not the way I would have liked. And now you, my still lovely and beautiful wife, also possess these talents as well."

"I want to try the climbing walls thing," I said and then asked, "Will you be right behind me to make sure I don't fall?"

"Of course my dear, after you."

I went over a wall and placed my hands on it. My hands immediately stuck to it as if I had glue or tape on them. As I placed one hand after the other, I started to rise up off the ground. I placed my feet against the wall to push up and found I was crawling up the wall with ease. It was just like crawling on the ground but at a vertical angle instead of a horizontal angle. I was really enjoying myself at what I could do, made it all the way up the wall to the ceiling, and didn't stop there. I found I could crawl along the ceiling as well and was enjoying look up at the room below. Then, out of the corner of my eye I saw my husband also on the ceiling a couple few away from me smiling. I waved to him and unfortunately, that turned out to me a bad idea because I immediately started to plummet to the ground below. I closed my eyes and braced for impact only to discover that I was hovering three feet off the ground. As I touched back down, I felt a strange movement on my back. Turns out that itching feeling I had on my back was my wings trying to find a way to come out through my clothes. I guess I am going to have to modify my shirts with slits in the back now for my wings to have room so I don't damage them keeping them cramped up. I looked over to the other and they all had the same look on their faces as they did when I first showed up through the entrance door.

"You know you really shouldn't keep that look on your faces," I jokingly said to them, "They might freeze like that."

Bob was the first speak to me, "Wow the Doc was right about you. You are an angel. See, you have wings, you're beautiful and everything. Cool."

Link said, "Wow! That's awesome. You can fly."

"That's pretty neat you can fly," he told me, "I didn't even know roaches had wings or could fly. So that great for you."

My husband came running up to me and checked me over to make sure I wasn't hurt before giving me a hug around my waist. Then he stared examining my wings and found that whenever he lightly touched them, they seemed to move up and flutter a little. Then, he took out a small notebook; he had stashed inside his lab coat pocket, and started making notes about me. When he was finished writing he closed it back up and returned to his lab coat. I decided to ask him about what he wrote.

"Uh sweetheart? I asked, "What did you write in that notebook? Do you how why I seem to be the only one of us that has wings. Wait, you don't have wings as well do you?"

"I was merely writing your monster profile in my book my dear," he explained to me, "I have everyone's here; Link's, mine, Bob's Invisible Man's and now yours as well. To answer your question, of if I have wings like you, no I don't. The reason to why you seem to be the only one with wings is puzzling to me. The only thing I can think of is it seems to be a side effect of our transformation, that only affects women, because, like with some insects, only the females have wings and are capable of flight. However, unfortunately, there is no way for us to test this theory exactly, so we will have to assume that is the only explanation until further notice."

"Well I don't know why I have wings so except, for having to make slits in my clothes from now on, I have no complains about it and it's a plus on the things that I can do that different from you sweetie. Where you are a genius and can climb up walls, I can climb up walls too and fly, I said to him and then jokingly, "Oh and who was the one organizing your things when we were at home? Oh, that right it was I. Even super geniuses need a little help in organization honey."

"Well it certainly is going to be interesting having you here my love," he said while holding me in his arms.

Then a strange beeping sound came from the ceiling and the others and my husband all rush over to the table and sat down. I guess that beeping sound was similar to the dinner bell to indicate that food was about to be served. Then four tubes appeared out of the ceiling and dropped whatever each monster got in their bowls. Link got lobster, crab and other associating shellfish, my husband and I received garbage as our meal, Bob got a whole turkey, which plopped directly into him and started to dissolve rather quickly, and the Invisible man received tomato soup for his meal, which he picked up and drank from the bowl, because he clearly didn't have any silverware. I had mixed feeling about my meal. Part of me, the human part, was repulsed by the idea of eating this stuff, yet a stronger part of me was drawn to it because my husband was right about it smelling too good to resist. I noticed out of the corner of my eye that my husband had stopped eating a slipper when he noticed I wasn't eating as well.

"What's wrong my dear," he asked with a concerned look on his face, "Are you all right? Why aren't you eating? Are you sick? Do you need to lie down?"

"No I'm not sick. I'm just having mixed feelings about the idea of eating this," I explained to him, "Part of me is disgusted at the idea of eating this and another part is craving it and it smells so good. Does that make sense? What do I do, what's wrong with me?"

"There is nothing wrong with you. What you just told me makes perfect sense my love," he said in an understanding tone, "You are still human in most ways; unfortunately, this craving you are having is another side effect of being half cockroach. Just don't think about it and give in to the bug side of you. I think you will find it's not as bad as you think it is."

I looked at him, then at the garbage and sighed. I will admit he was right about it smelling too good to resist, sort of like homemade potpie cooking in the oven. Therefore, I picked in a pick of newspaper and started nibbling on it. Surprisingly it tasted like chicken, the dark meat part of a chicken. Soon I felt like I wanted more and started to dig into it along with my husband. Before I knew it, I felt full, I had eaten about half the pile that was in the bowl and the rest was eaten my husband. During the meal, I had to give Bob's hand a slight slap twice to get him to keep his hands off my food. The change in my diet was going to take me some time to adjust to; however, the rest of my changes I felt perfectly at ease with.

"Ok, that wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be and I actually enjoyed it like I would any meal when I was normal," I said to him, "I do actually have a question about the meal though. Which one was that?"

"That was dinner roach lady," Invisible man said to me, now fully dressed for some reason that I hadn't noticed before, "I bet you are probably wondering why I am wearing clothes now, huh?"

I nodded my head and he continued with his explanation. "As you could see I may be invisible, but the food I eat isn't and for the sake of everyone here, I didn't want they to get a view of how the human digestion system worked during dinner. So if I wear something, it doesn't put everyone off eating their own food and I also didn't want to gross out the lady here Madame.

"Ok, well that makes perfect sense," I told him, "Thank you for your consideration. So now, what do we do?"

"Well after dinner, Monger opens the doors to our cells and we have to stay in there until breakfast tomorrow morning," Link said to me, "Then after breakfast, we all gather here in this room to do whatever we want except try to escape. All though, "super genius here tries anyway and normally gets his "toy box" privileges taken away from him for a while. They allow him to still work on his experiments, but they also keep a real close eye on what is he's making to make sure it isn't used for escaping purposes."

"I'm going to keep trying to find us a way out of here, thank you," Dr. Cockroach said to him, " I don't care how many times they take my things away from me. I don't care how long it takes, I will find us a way out of here by any means necessary, even if I have to blow up the base to do it," Then he laughed in a maniacal way.

That last laugh of his made me feel a bit unsettled. I looked at him with confusion and concern on my face. "_Oh my, I think this separation between us this past month has taken a deeper toll on his mental health than I thought. When he asked me a month ago "What would I do without you" and I told him that he would probably go insane, I meant that as a joke, not literally." _I thought to myself. I have find out from one of the others if this is the first time he has ever laughed like that or if this has been a reoccurring thing for him this past month. I just hope it the first one and not the last one. I went over to ask Link about my husband's new laugh.

"Uh, Link could I talk to you for a minute in private please," I asked him in a whisper, "I have to ask you something about Dr. Cockroach."

"Sure. Let's talk over here," he said to me as we walk a bit away from everyone, then he asked, "Ok shoot what do you want to ask me about him?"

"That laugh of his that he did just now," I asked him, " Is that the first time he's done that and if not, when he start laughing like that?"

"Oh the mad scientist laugh, yeah I figure by the look on your face, you would have questions about that," he said with a sigh and rubbed the neck of his neck, "To answer your questions, No, that's not the first time he's done that. He started laughing like that a week ago. I think being the smartest man in the world yet he can't figure a way to get out of here to get back to you is what drove him nuts. Not offence Mrs. Cockroach, I will admit some of the things he comes up with are clever, but some of them seems a bit crazy to me. It's too bad you weren't here then, I think you could have helped him."

I looked over at my husband and saw him walking toward us. I smiled at him and went to join him in our cell as Monger told us to get back to them. As the door closed, I saw that all my things I had brought for us were here and started to work on my shirts to make them more comfortable for my new wings. As I watched my husband set back work, on what I can guess his latest escape plan was, my heart went out to him. While seemed like I was going crazy before I came here, my husband had actually gone off the deep end before me a long time ago. I'm going to have to be patient with him and treat this as I would if he was physically sick and would have to try to get him to break this habit of laughing manically. If I couldn't then, I would have to accept it like I did with us both being half cockroach people. I just hope that, at least one of his escape plans work, because from what I have seen of what has happened to him this past month, I don't think he can handle being trapped in here for years.


	8. Chapter 8: Our almost successful escape

**Disclaimer:** Ok, here is where I start including Maggie in the adventures of the Monsters vs. Aliens crew. This chapter focuses on her view of the events in the short film B.O.B.'s Big Break, which took place in 1968 before the events of the Monsters vs. Aliens movie. I don't own any of the monsters, except Maggie/ Mrs. C., as she is sometimes called, as much as I want to. DreamWorks Company has that pleasure. If you haven't seen the short film, then I highly recommend it. Now enjoy the rest of the story.

* * *

Over the past six years I have been at this base, my husband has had many escape plans, but they have all ended in failure. Just as I feared what would happen if my husband was caged up too long, happened after I had been in this place for a year. My husband was now a brilliant mad scientist. I tried to break him of this habit of laughing maniacally whenever he got really excited about his work, but unfortunately, I failed. He would sometimes catch himself from doing that, but alas, it seems that his maniacal laughter is a permanent thing. As I looked at my grandmother's crest around my neck, I remembered the day I gave him my grandfather's crest on our seventh wedding anniversary….

* * *

I looked everywhere in our cell for the present mom had given me two years ago to give to my husband on this day, but I couldn't find it. I decided to read a book to help calm my nerves before beginning my search again. As I was shifting my way through the books, I finally found a small wrapped box with a note written from my mom saying "Happy 7th Anniversary my heart to you and your husband." What it was doing in the back of the bag I had for our books I will never know. Maybe when the guards were checking my luggage, they came across the box and just put it back in the bag at random. As I was putting the bag back, my husband came up behind me and startled me.

"Oh I'm apologize Maggie. I didn't wish to frighten you," he told me as I hid our present behind my back, "I saw you searching for something and thought I could be of some help. What are you hiding behind your back?"

I slipped our present into my back jean pocket and kept my hands behind my back. Since it was our seventh anniversary, I thought I would have some fun with him. I looked at him with an innocent look on my face and smiled at him.

"Nothing, I am hiding nothing, dear, see, "I told him while showing him my hands.

"Hmmm, I see," he said with a skeptical look on his face and a finger scratching his chin, "Unless you hid, whatever it was you had, in your back pocket. Let's see it."

I couldn't control the look of surprise that formed on my face, which told him he caught me; however, I wasn't ready to let him win just yet.

"Very clever dear," I told him with a playful look on my face, "But if you really want to know, you'll have to catch me first!"

With that I took off toward the recreation and dining area, but it didn't take him long to almost catch me. When he had me backed up against a wall, I took to the sky. I know it was cheating since he couldn't fly, but it was the only way to challenge him and make him fight for it if he was so curious to know what it was I had. As I flew around the ceiling for a few minutes, I felt him grab me around my ankle behind my back.

"HA HA, caught you," he triumphantly shouted at me.

I tried to shake him off because he was dragging me down, but he held on tighter and started climbing up me. Unfortunately, his climbing was tickling me and made it harder for me to control where it was I was flying. Finally, I had to land to avoid us running into a wall or something. The moment his feet touching the ground, he yanked me down into his arms. I struggled to get him to let go of me, but no such luck, he was stronger than I was. Then he started using his antennas to tickle my neck.

"All right, all right, uncle," I said while laughing, "Let go and I will show you what I am hiding! Please stop it, no tricks I promise, please just stop!"

He stopped and let of me and I pulled out the box for him to see it. "Happy anniversary my dear husband," I told him, "I've saved this for two years to give it to you today."

"Was that today? Oh, I'm so sorry I didn't get you anything Maggie," he sadly said to me, "Why did you wait so long to tell me about this, just out of curiosity?"

"It's kind-of a tradition on my mother's side of my family to pass this gift onto the next couple," I told him, "It was my mother's and her mother passed it on to her when she was married to my dad for seven years. It's customary for whoever is next to give this gift to their spouse when they have been married for seven years no matter what gender the baby is. We do this because according to my mother, if the couple stays married for seven years, then that means that their love is one that will endure for many more years in the future and this gift will help tie those lovers together forever. I don't know what the gift is so, let's open it together."

He ripped the paper off the box and I lifted up the lid. Inside were two necklaces with my family's crests on them. One was beautifully crafted for a woman and the other was equally crafted for my husband. I picked up the one designed for the husband and placed it around my love's neck and he did the same for me. This meant he was now part of my family for all eternity.

* * *

He still has his part of our necklaces; however, he chooses not to wear because he fears that one of his experiments will ruin or destroy it. Therefore, he keeps it in his pocket in the box it came in. He asked me once if it offended me that he doesn't wear it and I told it didn't offend me in the least because I thought it was a perfectly rational explanation for why he isn't wearing it. Right now, he is working on a "birthday cake" for Bob, which was actually a formula designed to chemically turn B.O.B. into an atomic bomb to blow up one of the outer walls of the base so we could escape. Since B.O.B. is indestructible, he would just reform back and come with us when we leave. Link and I are decorating the room attached to the outer wall for his "party" to make our story more believable otherwise; he might not eat the "cake". They weren't the best decorations, but they were the best we could do, since they were latex gloves and trash bags for balloons and scraps of paper for a "Happy Birthday" sign that I saved from my meals for days. Although I will admit, they did have a certain charm for a party and I am sure Bob will like it nonetheless. Finally it was time to go get the "Birthday Boy/ Blob thing" and to set my husband's plan in motion. Link and I were the ones chosen to go get him from the recreation and dining area while my husband finished decorating the "cake."

"B.O.B. guess what," I said to him, "We have a surprise for you."

"A surprise? Really," he excitedly asked and looked around, "Where is it?"

"Oh, first you have to close your eye," Link explained to him, "Otherwise; it wouldn't be a surprise anymore would it?"

"Here, give me your hand and we'll take you to your surprise," I told him when he closed his eye, and then I noticed he tried to peek, "No peeking B.O.B."

He immediately snapped it shut and kept it that way all the way to the "party" we had set up for him. I gave my husband the okay sign for him to start the first step to our potential freedom ticket.

"Is your eye closed B.O.B.," my husband asked him

"Uh huh."

"Okay you can open your eye now," I told him.

"It is open," he said with his mouth open and his eye still closed, "Oh, man! I've gone blind!"

"That's your mouth B.O.B.," Link reminded him.

"I get those confused," B.O.B. told us with a chuckle while opening his eye. '

"Surprise B.O.B.," my husband and I said to him while throwing confetti in the air in celebration.

"Happy Birthday," Link said to him and then blew one of those party noisemakers to celebrate.

"Wow, it's my birthday," B.O.B. asked us with that happy goofy look on his face he always has.

"Of course it's your birthday," my husband told him while revealing the "birthday cake" for him, "Why on Earth would we have one of these if it wasn't your birthday?"

Then my husband fixed a one of the "candles" which was actually a pencil, because it falling and gave B.O.B. a big toothy grin.

" Wow! Cool a birthday cake," B.O.B. exclaimed and picked up the box the cake was sitting on above his head and looked around, "Wait, where are my presents?"

"Whoa, one thing at a time sweetie," I told him while setting the box back on the ground.

"But you have to have presents before the cake," he told us, "And games before the presents."

"Yes, yes all of that B.O.B.," my husband told him, "But why don't you eat your cake first and then we will plan a real blowout of a day for you."

"Yeah, you're going to explode," Link sarcastically told B.O.B., until he saw my husband and I glaring at him with our arms crossed, "With birthday excitement."

"Kapowey! Fun," Dr. Cockroach said while demonstrating to B.O.B.

"It's going to be the best day ever," B.O.B. said to us as he picked up the cake, "Wait don't you guys want some first?"

"Oh no thank you B.O.B.," I told him, "That cake was made especially for you, so you just go ahead and eat every bite of it. But it was very sweet of you to offer us some."

"I love you guys," He said to us after he had eaten the whole thing. It didn't take long for the thing to glow green and to become completely dissolved into B.O.B. My husband watching eagerly to make sure it worked and then he took out his checklist.

"Excellent, stage one is complete," he said with a smile while checking it off his list.

"Ok after we open up all the presents, we'll have a sleepover! We'll annoy my big sister, she hates it. Oh, sorry Mrs. C it's a guys only thing," B.O.B. told us as he held us in his arms, "And we'll share secrets."

"Oh, it's okay B.O.B., I can hang out in our cell with my books while you boys have fun," I told him so he wouldn't think he hurt my feeling by not inviting me to the slumber party.

"Sure, she will be fine and who doesn't love a good secret," my husband told him while handing him a wick, "Now here is your candle."

"Make a wish," Link told him while leaving the room.

"But don't blow it out just yet." I added as I too left the room.

"We're going to light it back there," My husband told him while, rolling out the rest of the wick, following us out the door.

"You sure your plan's going to work this time," Link asked skeptically as we backed up into the next cell.

"Absolutely", my husband told him while finishing rolling out the wick, "Why must you always doubt me?"

"I don't know", he said to him with a shrug, "Maybe because you've a million escape plans and we're still here."

"He's got a point sweetheart," I pointed out to him, "This has to be a million and one plans by now. I would know because you've constantly kept me up at night working on a new plan."

"Listen you two that "cake" has already transformed B.O.B. into a living explosive of the atomic scale," he said to us while lighting the wick with a match he had saved, "Once B.O.B. goes boom, we'll skip out of here like a bunch of carefree schoolchildren. There's nothing to it."

"And what about B.O.B," Link asked while snuffing out the match.

"Yeah, what if he doesn't survive this," I asked in concern," I want to escape as much as the rest of you, but not to point of having to lose someone to do that."

"He's indestructible. He will be fine," my husband said with a shrug.

Then he turned to a poster on the wall of Monger's face, which read "I'm Always Watching You, Always". It was designed to scare us into not trying to escape, but it always made us more determined.

"Monger thinks these walls are impenetrable," my husband said to the poster in a smug way, "Well I guess you never thought of a B.O.B bomb."

Then as we all turned around, we saw B.O.B. standing right next to us still holding the wick that was burning fast. In other words, we had an atomic bomb set to go off right next to us! I screamed when I saw B.O.B. standing there so close to us.

"Hey did you guys invite the Invisible Man," he asked us, "'Cause he hasn't shown."

Link started backing away from B.O.B. while I took to the air to get away from him. I heard my husband yell, "B.O.B. what are you doing?! Blow out that candle!" while trying to blow out the wick himself before it hit B.O.B. and killed us all. B.O.B. swallowed the wick at the last second and nothing happened. I landed next to Link when I was sure it was safe.

"Where's the boom," my husband asked and then B.O.B burped in his face.

"There you go. Is it game time now," he asked my husband as he waved a hand in front of his face and walk off a bit to figure out why his bomb didn't exploded.

Then when B.O.B. put his hand on Link's shoulder, I heard him say, _"Nice going genius. Looks like your bomb really bombed this time." _Everyone was shocked by the words that came out of his mouth, but what was strange is he had Link's voice instead of his goofy sounding friendly voice. "Ok that's different. B.O.B. are you feeling ok?"

"Yeah I'm totally fine Mrs. Cockroach," he said to me.

"B.O.B. I'm shocked," My husband scolded him, "I expected those cruel words from Link, but from you?"

"Actually those cruel words were mine," Link told us with surprise clearly in his voice, "I think B.O.B. just read my mind."

"I did," B.O.B asked excitedly in his normal voice, "What were you thinking?"

"I think he's right honey," I said to Dr. Cockroach, "Otherwise, why would Link's voice come out of B.O.B.'s mouth? Don't you think that's a little strange?"

"Read minds? Please," he said in a dismissive tone, "You have to have one to read one. He's just the same old brainless B.O.B."

The moment my husband touched B.O.B., we could all see B.O.B. sort-of morph into my husband's shape and heard his thoughts.

_"Who am I to call him brainless? I'm the one who can't escape from this place. I'm a charlatan, a fraud, a failure,"_ He was shocked at the fact that it appeared B.O.B. could read minds and decided to testing again to be sure, _"Testing, Testing, One, Two, One, Two, Hello? B.O.B. can you hear this? Ouch, Maggie why did you hit me?"_

That last thought of his was because I walked over to him and slapped him on the arm that wasn't touching B.O.B. after hearing those negative thoughts about him being a fraud and a failure. If there's one thing I absolutely can't stand in this world, it's negative thoughts and pessimistic attitudes about yourself or a situation.

"I thought I told you to cut out that sort of thinking," I sternly scolded him with my arms crossed in front of me to show I was serious. He was still rubbing the spot on his arm where I hit as I continued, "You are not, I repeat, not a failure or fraud, husband of mine. All scientists have to go through something like this, even the most brilliant scientist in the world. Heck, Thomas Edison had to go through thousands of light bulbs before he got one of them to work properly, remember?"

After he heard me, he looked at B.O.B ,who seemed to be off in a world of his own asking us what we got him and listing off potential presents we could have gotten him. Then he started getting that look on his face, I had seen many times before, when he gets a new idea.

"Leaping Linnaeus, this is huge," he said to me excitedly, "My bomb didn't bomb after all!"

He grabbed me around my waist, spun us around once and planted a quick kiss on my forehead before letting go. I was a bit dizzy because I didn't expect him to get this excited about something so soon and it caught me by surprise. I don't know where my husband was going with this, but I hope he's feeling alright.

He grabbed Link's face and said to him, "B.O.B is better than a bomb. He can read minds!"

"I don't get it," Link said him as he took his face out of my husband's hands, "Didn't we just establish that?"

"Don't you two see," he explained to us, "With B.O.B.'s new ability, Monger will literally tell us how to get out of here!"

"Freedom," Link and I said at the same time because we were thinking the same thing after hearing this news. B.O.B's new power was our ticket to leaving the place.

"Not only freedom," my husband said to us, "But with blue boy at our side, we're going to rule the world."

As I said earlier, my husband's mind these days are out the door so to speak. Right now, for example, he's plans for getting us out of here also includes world domination as soon as we are out. I am going to have to talk him out of that, but right now, I will settle for just getting out of here. After we are out, he and I are going to have a long talk about getting that world conquest idea out of his head. If he wouldn't listen to me, then I will have to restrain him physically, until this world domination poison is out of his system.

"Will there be a piñata? B.O.B asked us as he decided to join our conversation, "I love piñatas."

"Absolutely Bobby," my husband told him, "What's world domination without a piñata?" Then he started laughing his mad scientist laugh again, "Go on laugh with me." B.O.B started laughing like him the moment he touched him again and now we had two people laughing maniacally.

"Ok, if you're done laughing sweetheart," I said to him to get him to stop, "You go get Captain Monger to come here and Link and I will distract B.O.B. with some party games."

"All right, I wouldn't be long," he said to me as he left to go to our cell to call Monger to us. Link and I managed to distract B.O.B. with a game of GO FISH and were in the middle of a game of MARCO POLO when my husband returned with Captain Monger.

"Glad you could make it Captain Monger," my husband said to him, "You're just in time for some good old-fashioned birthday frivolity."

"Listen up bug man," Monger said while pointing a finger in my husband's face, "This had better not be another one of your half-baked escape attempts. I got my commandos ready to strike at my signal."

Then Monger did a series of facial and hand signals to the commandos he mentioned. Although some of them looked a bit silly to me to be legitimate signals to anyone, I wasn't going to question him about them, if there really were any commandos stationed nearby.

"Well you can call them off Captain," my husband told him in his most honest and innocent voice, "We're done trying to escape."

"Yes we have learned our lesson," Link said to him with his head down in shame.

Monger still didn't look convinced because he was narrowing his eyes at me for reassurance of what they just told him. He knows that I am the most honest of the monsters here and so he tends to hold me more accountable when they did anything deceitful that involves me, which is usually every single time. I gave him my most innocent look and came over to him.

"It's true Monger, we will never try to escape again," I told him with my fingers crossed behind my back and smiling, "I can see it's pointless now, so why bother anymore?"

"The only way we'd ever get out is if you thought it," Link said with a shrug and was speaking in a hypothetical voice, "And somehow, we, like, read your mind."

"Precisely," Monger told us while crossing his arms in front of himself, "And that's never gonna happen."

B.O.B. was calling out "Marco" and Link and I answered "Polo". He kept calling it out during our conversation with Captain Monger. I hoped B.O.B would find Monger soon because all this deceit was making me nervous or that Monger would slip up and accidentally tell us how to get out. However, the probably that Monger would slip up and tell us, even by accident, was slim to nonexistent.

"But wouldn't be a riot if you did tell us, "my husband asked him, "I mean, if you actually said, 'Monsters, there's a secret door, right under your noses?"

"Preposterous," Monger told us with a look of suspension on his face.

"Indeed," my husband pressed on, "Or the location of any getaway vehicles."

"Ludicrous"

B.O.B continues shouting Marco in the background and it was starting to get on everyone's nerves. Particularly Monger's because he snapped and yelled at B.O.B.

"Oh, for crying out loud! We're right here! Polo, Polo, POLO!"

"Ha, gotcha," B.O.B. said to Monger as he grabbed him and sort-of morph into him.

"Yes, well, I guess we'll never know the location of those secret doors," my husband said to him.

_"Especially the one right behind my "I'm always watching you, always" poster,"_ Monger thought through B.O.B.

Everyone let out a big "Huh?" after hearing that news for various reasons and my husband, Link, and I ran over to the poster. When we lifted it up, there was a small control panel hidden behind it.

"What's the access code," Link asked Monger.

_"One, Two, Three, Four,"_ Monger thought and then he shouted, "No! Let go B.O.B. Don't go through that door!"

Link pushed the code into the panel and a secret door lifted up through the wall next to the poster. Before we went through the door; however, my husband stopped us to ask Monger a question.

"What about the commandos?"

_"Commandos? There are none,"_ Monger thought as he tried to cover B.O.B.'s mouth, but it kept moving away from his hand, _"I just like making funny hand signals."_

I have to cover my mouth with my hand to keep myself from laughing at Monger's last thought.

"Excellent," my husband said before going through the door. I followed him laughing my head off and Link started to follow me; but, he went back to rub it into Monger some more. I heard him say, "Man, this looks bad for you" before he came running back to us. B.O.B. was the last to follow us and he was back to his normal brainless goofy self.

While we were running, my husband said to us, "It worked! We're really getting out!"

"I have to say I am really looking forward to testing my wings out in a place where I don't have to worry about running into the ceiling," I told him as I was starting to feel a sense of hope of leaving this place. Ever since I found out I had wings, I've been flying pretty much everywhere. I love this feeling of freedom and that it was a skill that only I could do that differs from my husband.

"Oh, man! I can practically taste my old swamp," Link said as we continued running down the hall.

As we turned a corner onto a railing, we came face to face with Monger again. This time; however, he was driving one of the facility's jeeps to catch us.

"Congratulations, Monsters. You never made it this far before," he smugly said to us, "Now what's your plan?"

"Oh birthday boy," Link called to B.O.B. "Go ahead and tag the Captain."

"Uh, are you guys familiar with the rules of Tag," he said to us in an "uh duh" voice, "Monger's still it. New game, green light!"

Then B.O.B. took off in the other direction. "No, B.O.B. come back. We need you," my husband called out to him as we chased after him.

"Red light," B.O.B. said to us as he put out his hand to stop us. We all stopped; unfortunately, Monger ran into Link with his jeep.

"So can the piñata be really, really big," B.O.B. asked us.

"Sure B.O.B.," Link told him as he got up off the ground.

"Whatever you want," I told him hoping that he would let us move again.

"Cool. Green Light!"

As we all started running again, Monger drove over Link with the jeep and speed past us. My husband leaned against the railing to avoid being hit while I flew up in the air. As we ran to the end of the railing, Monger's jeep went over the edge. Monger would have gone over too if he hadn't been wearing a parachute. We all jumped off the railing to the ground and started running to one of several open doors. The first one slammed shut.

"No," I yelled as I tried to get to the next one, only to have them all slam shut. We all looked up and saw Monger was hanging from the ceiling by his parachute with a remote in his hand. He did not look happy with us at all.

"I got this," I told them and flew up to Monger, "Alright Monger, hand over that remote and I will help you down from there. You can't possible jump from these heights without breaking something."

"Not happening missy," he said to me as he undid the parachute and dropped towards the ground. I grabbed him and was able to get us both back to the ground; unfortunately, he was keen on keeping that remote away from me. Every time I tried to grab it, he held onto it tighter and kept it out of my reach. Finally, I had to give up trying to wrestle the remote from him. I hope the others have a different plan in mind otherwise, we're caught.

"Game over boys," Monger said to us.

"Party pooper," B.O.B sadly said to him and started to walking back to his cell.

"Actually, there's one more game and it's called…," my husband said and though for a moment, "Pin the B.O.B. on the Monger."

"I love that game," B.O.B. told us as he came back rather quickly.

My husband tried to throw a ball of B.O.B. at Monger; unfortunately, he's not very athletically coördinated, and he pitifully missed.

"You throw like my twelve-year-old niece," Monger taunted him, "That I may or may not have."

"Ok, Link, you hit him then," I told Link.

"Uh oh," Monger said with a bit of worry clearly on his face. Link started rapidly throwing parts of B.O.B. at Monger like a machine gun. As he threw the parts, he said to Monger, "Yeah, dance soldier boy, dance." However, Monger was dodging everything that Link was throwing at his. Finally, he did a series of front flips and other gymnastic moves while avoiding every part of B.O.B. and landed gracefully on a bar.

"Whoo, good thing I took that gymnastics elective in high school," we heard him say to himself.

We all stood there with our eyes and mouths wide open at what we just saw. One part of B.O.B. stuck to the side of my husband's face and I heard him think, _"Oh, he's good."_ Then he pulled that part off.

"But not good enough," he said to Link and got ready to throw it, "Link! Go Long!"

When Link was a good distance away, my husband pitifully threw the ball and it bounced along the ground to Link. He groaned and kicked the ball, when it got close enough to him, with his tail toward Captain Monger, who dodged out-of-the-way at the last second.

"Ooh, my turn," B.O.B. said as he let loose a part of himself toward Monger. As it bounced toward him, Monger yelled to himself, "Fall Back! Fall Back!"

As he tried to avoid the parts of B.O.B. on the ground, he said to himself, while trying to get to a door that was closing fast, "Okay, remain strong. Nothing, but name, rank, and serial number. Name, rank, and serial number."

When the ball came closer, Monger tried to jump through the door before it closed only to be caught in it. Finally, we hear him say to himself as the ball stuck to his butt, "And whatever I do don't mention…_The jumbo jet that's up on the roof and all fueled up and ready to go." _Then he removed that part of B.O.B. from himself and started to struggle to get himself out of the door to stop us.

We all cheered after hearing that good news and I gave B.O.B. as big of a hug as I could manage without getting stuck in him.

"What do I win," he asked us.

"Now you get your present," Link told him and said with my husband and I, "To the jumbo jet!"

As we all started to take off toward the roof, I heard B.O.B whistled and watched as all the parts of him, that were missing all came back to him, and reformed him to his original height. When we reached the control panel to the roof and my husband put in the access code to open the door, there was the jumbo jet all ready for takeoff like Monger B.O.B saw it, he asked us, "Wow, is that my piñata?" Link told him that it was a piñata for some reason and that it was the kind you smash from the inside. Then we ran toward it and followed my husband through the jet up to the control center for the jet. I sat between Link and my husband and watched as he started flipping switches and pushing buttons to start-up the engines.

"Dudes! Aren't you forgetting something important," B.O.B asked us, "My blindfold for the piñata! Duh!"

My husband and I groaned at the same time and blind folded B.O.B. Link spun him around as my husband counted to three and Link shoved him out the door.

"Doc, I gotta say I was wrong. You are a genius," Link told him with a smile on his face as he retook his seat.

"I know," my husband replied as he pointed to the startup button and took the controls.

Link pressed the button with his tail and the plane started to rise off the ground toward the sky. I gave my husband a quick kiss on his cheek and said, "I've always known you're a genius honey. Oh, look there's Captain Monger."

I couldn't make out what it was he appeared to be yelling at us, but it probably was something like "Hey, you monsters, get back here with that plane! You can't take that! It's government property!" I smiled at him, blew him a kiss and waved goodbye to him while my husband and Link high-fived each other. As the plane got closer to the exit, we could see the sky and feel the sun through the windshield.

"The sun! Goodbye electric heat rock," Link said while crossing his legs across the controls on his side of the plane and leaning back in his chair, "Hello Cocoa Beach."

"And good-bye limited and stuffy enclosure," I happily added, "Hello wide open skies and fresh air."

"And this is just the beginning," my husband told us, "With B.O.B.'s new power; the secrets of the world will be ours for the asking!"

Unfortunately, for us, B.O.B broke back into the control room waving a metal rod around like a baseball bat. He still thought the jet was a piñata and I blame Link for that. He yelled at us while swinging the bar, "Hey! Where's the candy? Where'd you guys hide it?" He knocked Link out of his chair and almost hit me in the head with that bar.

"Wait B.O.B. wait," my husband yelled at him while still holding onto the controls. "Am I close," B.O.B asked us as he started smashing everything. Link and I screamed, "No! NO B.O.B. NO! Stop it!" We tried to get him to stop; but, he complete smashed the controls to the plane and it started falling back down. It didn't take long for it to explode and break apart in that narrow exit. I managed to fly out of the jet through where the windshield used to be and started flying toward the ground, when a piece of shrapnel from the plane hit my left-wing and caused me to crash to the ground with the others. There was debris, smoke and fire everywhere from the plane and it was hard for me to breathe. I looked up and saw my husband stumble over to me.

"Maggie, oh darling, are you all right," he asked me in concern as he helped me up.

"No I'm not. Ow," I cried as I felt a sharp pain on my back, "I think one of my wings is broken or something. It really hurts, but I think I'll be fine. Let's just get B.O.B. to Monger so we can find another way out of here."

He helped me walk towards Monger and that guy smugly said to us, "Welcome home boys."

My husband coughed and then said to him, "We're not done yet Monger."

"That guy took all the candy from your piñata B.O.B," Link cleverly told B.O.B. as he let me lean on him for support, "It's in his pockets."

B.O.B. looked a bit mad at that news and stretched his arms to catch Monger. He caught him in no time flat. As he held him, my husband asked, "Is there a backup plane."

"How about a backdoor," Link added.

"What about an escape pod or a secret tunnel," I also desperately asked Monger.

"Uh, I don't feel any candy," B.O.B. said to us in his normal voice, "But this little soldier is ticklish."

As he started to tickle Monger, who was laughing and saying, "Knock it off", we all looked at B.O.B. in defeat. It was clear to Link and me that whatever caused B.O.B to read minds in the first place was gone forever now, but my husband wasn't convinced.

"B.O.B., why aren't you reading his mind," he desperately asked B.O.B.

"I don't know but man, you guys really got ripped off on that piñata," he said as he released Monger, "I smashed it to bits not even a lollipop."

My husband kept pressing into B.O.B to get some sign he could still read minds until Link and I put our hands on his shoulders and shook our heads. It was hopeless, the plan failed and we were caught. I know I will have to go to the medical center for my wing after this.

"Whoo doggies," Monger shouted with glee and said to us, while pointing to a cage for us to get into, "Man, suspense, explosions, and gymnastics. Not a bad start for a Tuesday."

"Oh, burning Bunsen, burner," my husband groaned as we all got into the cage.

"I better get a promotion for this one," Monger said to us as the cage slammed shut and lifted us back to our cells, "Happy Birthday B.O.B."

"Thanks it's my birthday also," B.O.B. said back to him.

* * *

When they let us out, the others had to go back to their cells and my husband and I had to go to the medical center to get my wings checked out. The doctors let my husband also look because his research on cockroaches would help in diagnosing my wings. When he was finished, he sadly said to me, "I am so sorry this happened to you my dear, I never wanted you to get hurt while we were trying to escape."

I looked up at him, sighed and said, "I know you didn't intent for this to happen, but we all knew the risks that were involved in this. I am still mad at you and Link however."

"Me? Why are you mad at me? If you should be mad at anyone, be mad at B.O.B or Monger."

"NO! I have every right in the world to be mad at you and Link right now, because it was your fault I got hurt in the first place," I angrily said to him, "If you and Link hadn't told B.O.B. that the jet was a piñata, he never would have smashed it in first place and we would have been out of here by now. But no, you had to let him believe that. You know how B.O.B is like a child, he take things literally. If you tell him that something is a piñata, then he's going to beat it, like a piñata, to get candy out of it."

"You're right Maggie. I was blind by my arrogance and look what happened to you because of it," he said with a sullen look on his face because he knew I was right, "I promise I will never try to do another escape plan that involves world conquest again. What's the point of ruling the world when the one thing that matters most to me, I almost lost trying to get it. I know it will take a lot to kill you and me, but nothing is worth it, if I end up hurting you in the process. I just hope you will find some way to forgive me."

I sighed and looked away from him. It's hard not to forgive someone you love when they are trying to make an effort to regain your forgiveness. I just don't know if I ready forgive him or not be mad at him and Link for a while yet. Those two are going to have to try very hard to get back in good graces with me.

"I don't know just yet honey. I am sure I will forgive you for this eventually, but not now and the same goes for Link," I said sternly to him while facing him again, "You both owe me and you're going to have to try very hard to make this up to me. What's the diagnosis on my wings Doc.?"

"All right I expected that and I promise to try to find some way to make up to you and I will tell Link this too," he said to me as he looked at my results, " Well, some good news is your wings aren't permanently damaged. That left one has a piece of it missing, but it should heal up in about a month."

"Great," I said sarcastically, "No more escape plans for a while ok honey, please? I got lucky that my wing wasn't sliced in half after that last one. It will be one of the ways you could make it up to me and besides Monger has probably tightened security even more now because we almost got out."

"I promise," he said to me, "I will stop making escape plans for a while, but I still plan on us getting out of here in the future."

"I know. I don't expect you to just give up completely yet," I told him as I got up, "All I ask is for a break for a while."

I got off the table and went over to my shirt to redress. He helped me slip my wings past the slits in my shirt and pulled it up over my shoulders. I buttoned up my shirt and sat down for him to slip my wings into a sling he made in no time, to keep them from moving during my recovery for this month. Right when we finished up, Monger came in to check on me and probably to yell at us too.

"How bad are you hurt Mrs. Cockroach," he asked me sternly.

"Dr. Cockroach said it would take a month for my wings to fully recover. Luckily, that piece of shrapnel only took off part of my wing and didn't slice it in half." I told him and sighed.

"Good, because I've got some news for you too," he sternly said to my husband and me, "When you are fully recovered, you are restricted from flying for three months and you, Dr. Cockroach, are restricted from experimenting for the same amount of time as her."

"What?! You can't be serious," We both shrieked at the same time.

"Dead serious, missy and mister," he said to us while narrowing his eyes at us, "No flying or experimenting, three months after your recovery, and we are going to finish that party you gave for B.O.B with the Invisible Man right now. I noticed he wasn't with you when you tried to escape earlier, so it's only fair to include him in the party at least. Let's go."

My husband and I groaned and followed Monger back to the cell where we had the party set up for B.O.B. Link was already there looking miserable as he sat on his electric heat rock, B.O.B of course and he was talking to the Invisible Man, who was only wearing a party hat. B.O.B had insisted that since Invisible Man was wearing one, that we all had to wear them as well. _"I can't believe this. I'm thirty-six years old and I'm grounded literally for four months like I'm a ten years old again. Oh yeah, husband of mine, you owe me BIG time for this. And the same goes for you too Link, you're equally to blame for this." _I thought to myself, as we had to watch Invisible Man do some impressions. I sat between my husband and Captain Monger, who had a big smile on his face. I think he was clearly enjoying our misery.

"This is part of our punishment for trying to escape isn't it? And you're going to enjoy yourself immensity aren't you," I harshly whisper to Monger. He smiled and nodded his head twice I guess as a way to answer my questions.

"This is the best party ever," B.O.B. said to us as he watched the Invisible Man continued with his impressions.

"G-g-glad y-y-you're enj-j-joying yours-s-self B.O.B," Link said as he wrapped his arms around himself because his heat rock's power gave out. "H-h-how m-m-much l-l-longer d-d-do we hav-v-ve to s-s-stay here?"

Monger finished laughing at Invisible Man's latest impression and said, "I think another hour or two will do and then you can all go back to your cells."

Link, my husband and I all groaned after hearing that news. Like I said, he was punishing us for our last escape attempt and enjoying our misery a little too much for my taste. I tried to get up to leave early, but he caught me and made me sit back down. _"Drat! I hoped he didn't notice me. Link, you owe me Big time for this and I don't care how long it takes, I aim to collect. That goes double for you Antony Tyson since you're my husband and roommate," _I thought to myself as I had to sit there.

* * *

Two hours later, I happily ran to my cell leaving my husband in the dust. He followed me slowly and when the door had shut, he walked over to his workbench and divided his escape plans into two piles for us to snack on until tomorrow at breakfast. I finished mine in no time flat while he seemed to pick at it. I was still mad at him for his plan causing me to get hurt but I gave him a small sweet smile to show him I was slowly starting to forgive him. We were so close to making it outside, only to have it literally blow up in our faces. As I laid on my stomach on our bed next to him, I couldn't help but wonder if we were ever going to get out of here and if so, how long would we have to wait before it happens?

**TBC. Sorry it took so long to write this chapter, but let me know how you liked it and I will see you in the next one. :)**


	9. Chapter 9: A new monster

**Disclaimer:** Here is the scene where Susan is introduced to the band of monsters. Again, I will say that I don't own the characters of the Monsters vs. Aliens movie as much as I would like to, that pleasure belongs to the DreamWorks Animation Company; but I do own the character Maggie / Mrs. C. Now, on with the rest of our story.

* * *

It has now been fifty years since we were brought here to the facility. A lot has happened since our almost escape forty-four years ago. Since then, we have had something good and something bad happen to us. The good thing that has happened to us is, we have had one new monster called Insectosaurus join us. He is a three hundred and fifty foot tall insect monster, which was transformed by radiation from atomic bombs at a test site, when he was a small grub. They picked him up from Tokyo, Japan after he had already eaten about half the city. Link took an instant shine to him, and for some unknown reason, he can communicate with him. I don't know why it is that only Link can understand what Insecto is saying, but I am happy for him nevertheless, and Insecto has become a friend and sort of a pet to the rest of us. I think it's somewhat cute how the only way he will get back in his cell, is when one of the soldiers shines a light in his face, and then he just stares at it and follows them inside. He joined our group about twenty-five years ago. At the same time and about a week after Insecto came here, tragedy struck us hard. I vividly remember what happened twenty-five years ago….

* * *

I went to Invisible Man's room to check on him, because, he wasn't at breakfast that morning. For some reason the light to his cell was out, as I walked into his cell to try to find the light switch, I tripped on something.

"Invisible Man, what are you doing on the floor with the lights out," I asked him in annoyance, as I picked myself off the floor, "I tripped on you and could have hurt myself, get up off the floor!"

I continued my search for the light and finally found it. When I turned the lights on, I turned around and saw him, clearly visible and naked on the floor. I bent down to help him up and found he was cold and stiff. I realized that he must be dead, screamed my head off, and ran back to my cell in a panic to call General Monger, who got that promotion he wanted, my husband and Link. I speed past them and yelled into the little box on a P.A. system, "Monger come quick! It's Invisible Man, I think he's dead, he's not moving or anything and I can see him." My husband came over to comfort me and to get me to calm down.

"Ok, Mrs. Cockroach just calm down and take it easy," Monger told me, "I will be down in one minute with a team to check on him ok?"

"Ok just please hurry," I cried and then turned to my husband and buried my face into his chest, "Oh Antony, what could have happened to him?"

"I don't know love," he said to me while rubbing my back, "But Monger will be here soon and we will know exactly what happened. Hush now, my dear, it will be all right, shh. Why don't you just lie down and rest for a bit? I will ask Monger if he can make you some hot tea and some candy wrappers to soothe your nerves."

"Ok, that sounds wonderful," I said to him as he wiped the tears from my face. He led me to our bed, pulled the covers over me, and kissed me before leaving the room with Link. After an hour had passed, Monger came into the cell to check on me with my husband, who brought me the items he promised, a hot cup of herbal tea for sleep and a bowl of candy wrappers for comfort, and to tell me how Invisible Man was doing.

"Mrs. Cockroach, I am sorry to tell you that you were right. He is dead," Monger regrettably told me, "The coroner determined that the case of death appeared to have been a heart attack and that he had been dead, for at least two hours, before you found him."

After he left, we saw the team carry out Invisible Man's body out to give him a proper burial. I know I was never really close to the guy, but I still felt bad that he died and that I happened to have been the one who found his body.

"I can't believe he's dead," Link said in disbelief, "I mean, he never said anything to me or B.O.B. him being sick."

That's when it dawned on me. "What do we tell B.O.B.," I asked while wiping the tears from my face, "He's like a child remember? How do you tell a child that his best friend just died? This is going to break his heart when he finds out, even though he doesn't physically have one."

"Maybe it is best that we don't tell him," my husband sadly said to us, "Not the whole truth mind you. We could tell him that he escaped when they brought in Insectosaurus last week. He could have easily slipped past the guards while they were loading him."

"Yeah I'm with you," Link said while rubbing the back of his neck, "We will just tell him that and pray he never asks about him again."

I just nodded my head because I was too upset to say anything. We went to B.O.B's cell to give him the news about Invisible Man and he took it rather well. I know he would miss him, but I couldn't stand it if he knew the real truth about what really happened to him. I just hope that we will never have to mention this incident again in the future.

* * *

(**Present Day)**

Today we were going to head for the recreation and dining area, when I saw her. Well, more specifically, her legs and feet because she looked about fifty feet tall, with gorgeous platinum blonde hair and piercing blue eyes which were full of fear. The others were visiting my husband and me in our cell, before it was time for lunch and were now heading for the door. "Guys, wait stop," I whispered harshly to them, "Look, there's someone new in the dining area."

"Is it legs," B.O.B. asked us, "Did they just capture a giant pair of legs?"

"B.O.B. be quiet. She'll hear us," my husband scolded him.

"Why, legs don't have ears," B.O.B. asked him in confusion.

"Just shush," I told him.

"Excuse me," She asked us, while bending down to see us through the door, in a scared voice, "Could you please tell me where I am?"

We all hid from her view because it was obvious in her voice that she scared out of her wits right now. In addition, we really didn't know how she would take to seeing a bunch of strange creatures. Then, we watched as she turned around and saw them giving her some sort of mashed potatoes or something like that, through one of our eating tubes onto a plate, which was set on a giant table for her, and a giant spoon.

"Maybe you should go greet her, honey," I suggested to my husband, "I will be right behind you."

"Ok, I will be as polite as possible. We don't need to scare her any more than she already is," he said to me as we both scurried out the door, and behind her, to one of the legs of the table.

"Hello," she asked, as she turned around to face where we just were, in fear, "What was that?"

We both climbed up the leg to the top of the table rapidly, and scurried to hide behind her food. From the smell of the goop, I would say that my theory, of it being some creamy mashed potatoes, was correct. I lightly pushed my husband to greet her, when we came out; she turned around and saw us with a terrified look on her face. As soon as my husband said hello to the girl, she cried out, "Eww" and started trying to swat both of us with her spoon.

"Would you stop…? Careful," my husband told her as he dodged and then he grabbed the spoon, "Please, Madame. Stop... Doing... That!"

She, kind-of, crushed him on the table as he said that to her and I had flown out-of-the-way to avoid being hit as well. Luckily, it didn't take him long to recover, however, he was still dizzy from almost being crushed.

"Whatever mad scientist made you," he said while spinning around in a daze, "He really went all out." Then he fell flat on his face.

As I helped him up, I felt compiled to say something to this girl about her rudeness. All we tried to do to her was be friendly, and she goes and tries to squash us like bugs. I know that we look somewhat like bugs to her, but, that is no reason to try to kill us.

"Young Lady! That was completely uncalled for," I sternly said to her, after I had helped my husband to balance himself, "All we tried to do was be friendly to you and you try to kill us."

She dropped her spoon and said to us with a shocked look on her face, "You can talk," then she slipped and fell hard on the floor. I guessed that she probably stepped on B.O.B. and I was right. He was stuck on the bottom of her shoe. As she pried him off, he said hi to her and she flung him off her hand toward the table. He hit her food and split in half.

"Oh my back," he yelled, "Just kidding. I don't have a back."

As he giggled at his joke, my husband said to the new girl, "Forgive him, but as you can see, he has no brain."

"Turns out you don't need on. Totality overrated, I mean I don't even … Oh my! Oh! I forgot how to breathe! Don't know how to breathe," he said as he appeared to be choking and started shaking my husband, "Help me Doctor Cockroach, help, help!"

"Suck in B.O.B," he calmly instructed B.O.B.

When he did, he said, "Oh, thank you Doc. You're a lifesaver."

Then Link appeared and tried to be cute with the girl, by showing up, upside down on her face. "Wow, look at you," he said as he twitched her nose, "I know what you're thinking. First day in prison, and you want to take on the toughest guy in the yard. Well I'd like to see you try sweetheart."

Then he tumbled down her the girl's leg to the ground and started doing a series of Kung-Fu moves to impress her. He is kind-of out of shape and I knew he couldn't keep that up for very long. Just as I predicted, when he tried to do a handstand, his back gave out and he landed in a heap on the floor. I sighed and shook my head before fluttering down to help him up.

"Oh gosh, that hurt," he said as I popped his back into place, "Look she's speechless."

"She," B.O.B. asked him in confusion.

"Yes B.O.B," my husband said rather excitedly to him, "This new monster, like my wife, is one of the rare female monsters in existence."

"No way it's a boy," B.O.B. said to him, then he pointed at Link's chest and mine and said, "See, they're the same."

"We need to have a talk," Link said to him, while putting a hand on his shoulder. I covered myself up after hearing that, feeling a bit self conscience at that moment. I looked over to the new girl and saw her face hadn't change. She still had that shocked look on her face when she saw that my husband and I could talk.

"Uh, guys look," I said to them as I pointed to her.

"Gentlemen, I'm afraid we aren't making a very good first impression," my husband pointed out while chuckling awkwardly.

"At least I'm talking," Link told him, "First new monster in years, we couldn't get like a wolf man or a mummy? Just, you know somebody to play cards with."

"Hey, I play with you all the time," I said to him in annoyance, "You just like to cheat about half the time and you usually always beat B.O.B. with Insecto's help."

My husband sighed and cleared his throat to break up our fight. I turned around and saw the new girl was staring at us with her knees pulled up to her chest. "Oh, I am so sorry. Where are my manners? We didn't mean to ignore you," I said to her to try to get her to relax around us.

"Might we ask your name Madame," my husband asked her.

"Susan," she timidly answered.

"No, no, no, we mean your monster name sweetie, "I explained to her, then I flew up to her face to speak eye-to-eye with her, "For example, my name is Mrs. Cockroach or Mrs. C."

"Yeah, like what do people scream when they see you coming," B.O.B. asked her with curiosity, "You know like, 'Look out here comes…"

"Susan"

"Really," my husband asked her in disbelief. Then he pulled out his monster profile book and added her to his list. B.O.B. tried saying her name in a spooky voice and said, "Wow, I just scared myself. Susan is a scary name."

"Right, like B.O.B is a scary name too," I sarcastically said to him while shaking my head.

"I know, right," he said back to me and then he turned to Susan, "Cool! We're the same!"

"No we're not. I can't believe this is happening to me. I must be dreaming," she said to him with fear in her voice as she started crawling backwards away from us.

I was about to say something to her, when the meal buzzer started going off. We all hurried to our table to receive our food. Link got raw fish, which he started rudely bitting the heads off and slurping up the rest. B.O.B tried to take one, but he got his hand slapped by Link's tail.

"That is repulsive," my husband said to me as we both cringed at Link's lack of table manners.

"I agree. Link, for goodness sake, please don't make those noises when you eat. It's gross," I complained to him, as Doctor Cockroach's and my garbage dropped from the tube, onto our plate.

"Oh yeah," he sarcastically said to me, "Like eating that stuff isn't gross too. At least my food is fresh and hasn't been sitting for who knows how long, before they serve it to me."

"Oh just hush up and eat," my husband snapped at him, "Ooh an old slipper. Don't mind if I do, unless the lady would like to have it first."

"No thank you honey. You go ahead and enjoy yourself," I smiled, patted his face and said to him, "Besides; I see an empty egg carton with my name on it."

As I reached out for it, I noticed B.O.B. trying to take an empty water bottle from the pile. I slapped his hand and sternly said to him, "B.O.B. how many times must I tell you? Keep your hands off and just wait. You'll get your own food, so there's no need to take anything from our pile."

"I'm sorry Mrs. C," he sadly said to me while rubbing his hand, "I'm just hungry." He didn't need to wait long because an entire ham dropped into him from his feeding tube. He looked happy now as the ham started to dissolve rapidly into his body.

I turned my attention back to the egg carton I was eyeing earlier and picked it up. As I took a bite out of it, as if it was a sandwich, I discovered that it wasn't empty after all. It still had some eggs inside it crushed, which was a delightful surprise for me. I looked up from my meal and saw that Susan was still staring at us and hadn't moved at all.

"Ok, two things. One, it's rude to just stare at people, especially when they 're eating," I said to her holding up one finger, then another as I continued, "Two, you might want to eat your food before B.O.B. sees it and eats it himself."

"Ok now I know I'm dreaming," She said while getting up from the floor and started backing up, "Or maybe I had a nervous breakdown at the wedding, and now I am in a mental hospital on medication that's giving me hallucinations."

When I heard the word "wedding" escape her mouth, I stood up quickly from my chair, and flew to her. "Did you just say wedding," I asked her in concern, "Is that where they captured you?" I think my flying at her face freaked her out a little more, because she backed right into Insectosaurus. If she wasn't terrified before, she certainly was now because when she looked up at him, she screamed Bloody Murder and ran away from him. Insecto roared back at her in surprise and came over to his bowl full of sugar-water with the rest of us.

"Don't scare Insectosaurus." Link told her, "He's going to wet himself, then we'll all be in trouble. It's okay buddy, she's new. Don't worry about it, it will just take a little time for her to get used to you big guy."

Insecto snorted and started shaking his leg to the ground, like a dog, as Link scratched his belly. I turned from them and saw Susan running along the walls in a panic. I flew over to her to get her to calm down.

"Susan, Susan relax, it's just Insecto, he's harmless I promise," I said to her as I landed on her shoulder. That was a mistake because she shrieked, brushed me off and started yelling, "Please someone! Anyone! I don't belong here! Let me out!"

"What are you doing," I asked her, as she appeared to be searching the walls for something.

"Every room has a door," she shouted in a panic, "There's got to be a door here. Where's the door?!"

"Susan, please calm down," I tried again to calm her, this time I flew near her, "You really shouldn't be doing that or …"

I didn't get a chance to tell her to stop beating against the door screaming" LET ME OUT!", because it lifted up to reveal two bright red lights glowing at us. The lights were from General Monger's new jet pack he recently got. He glared at the others and me before saying, "Monsters get back in your cells."

I sighed in defeat, gave Susan a sympathetic smile and padded her shoulder, before flying off to join my husband in our cell. I hadn't gone very far, when I heard Monger sternly remind me, "Mrs. Cockroach, I am sure you are well aware that you are still under flight restriction, due to your fight with the Missing Link two and half months ago, until lunch time tomorrow."

* * *

Two and a half months ago, Link and I got into a fist fight because I told him to stop calling my husband a "quack". He told me that I always stood up for him and that I was just his puppet. He also said, the only reason he married me in the first place, was to have a "yes man", who happened to be a woman. I saw red after that, I flew fast at him and punched him in the face. When he tumbled over onto his stomach, I jumped on him, put my knees on his back and started pulling on his arms behind him. While I was pulling his arms, I yelled, "Take that back or, so help me, you are not going to have any arms to do any more weight exercises!" Monger came in with three guys to pull me off him. When they got me off, he said, "Ok, Maggie, Jeez I'm sorry. I take it back, just calm down please. I didn't mean it, honest."

I calmed down a bit after he said that and the guys slowly released their grip on me. I think that Link realized that I was a force to be reckoned with if anyone insults my husband or me like that. He never should have said that to me and treated me in such a disrespectful manner and he had better not do that ever again.

"I hope you mean that Link. It really hurt when you said that to me. I'm sorry for attacking you," I told him, "It was uncalled for and I shouldn't have done that. I will try to conduct myself in a more civilized manner in the future."

"Well I have to say one thing about you Maggie, you sure can pack a punch," Link said to me while rubbing his jaw, "I didn't expect little you to actually have some power behind that hit. Remind me not to get on your bad side."

"Ok and I will try to control my temper in the future," I said to him and smiled.

"Mrs. Cockroach, we have rules about fighting here," General Monger told me, "I understand that sometimes tempers rise; however, when it gets to the point, like with you two, then we have to step in. I'm sorry to inform you, but you are restricted from flying for two and half month until lunch time and you, Link, are confided to your cell for one month. We will redirect your food to your cell during that time. I'm sorry, but I feel at this time, it is best to keep you two separated for a while."

"I figured as much," I sighed and said to Link, "Sorry. I didn't mean to get you in trouble Link."

"Well, since I was the one who started the fight in the first place," Link said with a sigh, "I deserved it and I'm sorry I got you literally grounded for two and a half months. I know how much you love flying, about as much as you love climbing on the walls and ceiling."

"It's ok Link, I shouldn't have snapped like that, just don't say things like that to me anymore."

* * *

"Oh come on Monger, have a heart," I complained to him, "This is the only way I can have a face-to-face conversation with the girl." He wasn't having it, he pointed to me and then to the ground, I scowled at him, crossed my arms across my chest, and landed with a huff. "Well, I'll see you around Susan," I told her as I scurried off to my cell. The door slammed shut as soon as I was inside and I went over to our bed to read a book. I was reading Jules Verne's Journey to the Center of the Earth, while my husband was working on a bomb made of Legos and other such parts found in our meal. I marked my place and closed the book to ask him a question.

"Sweetheart, how long do you think it is going to them to figure out what it is you are making in here," I asked him, knowing that soon he was going to have his "toy box" privileges, as they like to call them, taken away again.

"I've manage to elude them so far, my dear," he said to me, with a somewhat sinister gleam in his eye, "Besides they will hear it, long before they have a chance to discover it. I just need a bit of uranium to complete it."

That's when we noticed Susan and Monger passing by the observation glass of our cell. Monger had those installed immediately after the almost escape, to make sure we wouldn't try anything sneaky like that again. I smiled and waved at Susan and my husband greeted her as well through the call box. "Hello Susan. Delightful to see you again," he said with a charming smile, "Oh, you wouldn't happen to have any uranium on you, would you? I just need a smidge."

"Rescind Doctor Cockroach's toy box privileges immediately," Monger said into the radio on his coat sleeve. I figured that Monger had already given Susan her orientation of the facility and was escorting her back to her cell. I will have to check on her first thing tomorrow to see how she's faring. Judging by her reaction of us earlier, she must be terrified by now. I think she has no idea that she is now a monster, same as the rest of us. I also think that the poor girl is really convinced this whole thing is just a big nightmare, which is going to go away as soon as she goes to sleep tonight. Susan, I wish it were so. I saw the soldiers come into our cell to take my husband's bomb away; I also saw that he was being stubborn and was guarding it from the soldiers. I sighed and went over to him to try to persuade him to give it up willingly; otherwise, they would just knock him out and take the thing anyway.

"Honey, come on," I told him, while trying to pull him out-of-the-way, "They're going to take it anyway, besides, I know of another thing you can do other than working on this."

That seemed to have piqued his interest. "If you move," I sneakily whispered to him, "Then I will tell you or you can stay stubborn and you wouldn't get one word out of me, after you regain consciousness, for a long time and you know I can do that."

"_I wonder what she could possibly have to tell me. Is it worth the risk of losing our one chance to leaving this awful place? Maybe it would be wise if I do as she says, besides she's gotten me too curious about her proposal to worry about a dud bomb," _Dr. Cockroach thought to himself.

"All right, Maggie, all right," he said to me, and then he turned to the soldiers and said, "It's not active, so you don't have to worry about getting blown to pieces if you drop it." Then, he did his mad scientist laugh and the soldiers hastily ran out the door. It always seems to make me laugh, when they got freaked out by his maniacal laughter, but I wasn't going to let him know that, otherwise he would never stop.

"All right my dear," he asked me, with curiosity clearly on his face, "Tell me, what did you have in mind that I could be working on, instead of finding us a way to get out of here?"

I smiled, wrapped my arms around his neck and said, "I think we should help Susan get back to a normal height."

"What," he asked in disbelief, "That's what you want me to be working on instead of finding us a way out?! I am sorry Maggie, but that is out of the question. I am too busy to be worrying about her with my own things at the moment."

"Sweetheart, she is convinced that she truly doesn't belong here. We need to help her and you are the only one here that can make that possible. Please, I would never ask you to abandon a project, unless it was for a good reason," I pleaded him, then I decided to change tactics, "Besides aren't you curious about what it is that made her grow in the first place?"

"I will admit that I am fascinated by whatever it was that made her the way she is. I am also curious to know how this differs from the substance that made Insectosaurus grow taller than her. But, why are you so interested in her?"

"I feel bad for her, Antony," I said, as I used his real name to let him know I was dead serious about this, "Remember how you felt when they took you away from me and kept us apart? I am sure I heard her say the word wedding. A girl that young and pretty has got to have a fiancée or even a boyfriend, who is probably going nuts because he wouldn't be able to see her again."

I put my head down and sighed. He also let out a sigh and put a knuckle under my chin to pull my face up to look in his eyes. He smiled and nodded his head. He didn't need words to tell me that he was going to help her; the look on his face said it all. I had tears of happiness in my eyes and kissed him. "Thank you Antony. You don't know how happy you've made me. I am going to talk to her tomorrow about you finding a way to shrink her down to a normal height."

"Love do you think that is wise," he asked me cautiously, "Remember what she did to me not half an hour ago? She could really hurt you and I don't want to wake up one of these days and find that I am a widower."

"I am surprise to see that you have forgotten, remember that I am part cockroach too dear. She didn't kill either one of us earlier today and she wouldn't do that tomorrow. Besides, I have to try and she looks like she could use a little girl help. I'll be fine honey. I love you Dr. Antony Tyson."

"And I love you, Maggie Tyson," he said as he pulled me in for a kiss, "Now, I think it would be wise of us to get some sleep, since tomorrow is going to be a very trying day, don't you?"

"Yes I agree. Although, I want to read for a little while longer, but you can go ahead and sleep if you want. I'll see you in the morning."

He and I both changed into our pajamas before settling into bed. He gave me a kiss and laid his head on his pillow to sleep. After about half an hour, I heard him lightly snoring as I was reading. After an hour had passed, I marked my place in my book before closing it, shut off the light, and laid my head to my pillow. As I drifted off to sleep, I couldn't help thinking to myself about Susan and what tomorrow will hold for us.

"_Try to sleep well Susan. I know it won't be easy and that you're probably scared and crying your eyes out, but Tony and I will try our best to get you out of here and back to your man. In the meantime, I hope you will count me as your friend, because I have already count you as one of mine."_

**TBC**


	10. Chapter 10: Trying to be a friend

**Author Note:** This scene is not in the movie but it does ties into what happened between when Susan first got to the facility and when she and the other monsters were released to go fight the giant alien robot a month later. I do not own the characters from the Monsters vs. Aliens movie, except Maggie/Mrs. Cockroach, DreamWorks Animation Company has that pleasure unfortunately. However, enjoy this next chapter and I apologize for taking so long to get it out to you guys.

* * *

I woke up to the sound of the alarm the facility had installed and groaned. Most days, I would be perfectly happy to try to sleep in, but today was different. I remembered that we had a new monster with us, who was probably scared, confused and crying her eyes out at this very moment. I got up and ran my hands over my antennas to give them a good cleaning before kissing my husband good morning. I smiled at him as he woke up and kissed me back. Then I went over to our bags to get us both a change of clothes. By the time we were both dressed, and the room had stopped moving, the door lifted up for us to join the others in the dining area for breakfast.

"Morning Link, B.O.B. and Insectosaurus," I said to them as I walked up to Insecto to scratch his head. He roared back at me as I crawled up his body to his head and started to scratch him behind one of his antennas. He purred at me as I scratched him and laid down slowly on the ground to let me off his head. Then he licked me with his big tongue as a way of saying thank you. I laughed and wiped the drool off my own antennas and my dress before saying, "You're welcome, though the bath was not necessary boy."

"Hey morning Doc, Maggie," Link said to me as he was dealing out cards to B.O.B.

"Morning Doc, Mrs. C." B.O.B said to me, then he asked, "Hey where's the new guy?"

"She's a girl B.O.B.," my husband corrected him, "Although, as much as I hate to say this, he does have a point. Where is Susan this morning?"

Then as soon as my husband had asked that question, we saw Susan being pushed into the room by a wall in her cell like yesterday.

"Good Morning Susan," I happily said to her, "How are you feeling?"

"Please. Just get away from me," she said to me, with fear in her voice, as I tried to approach her, "Just leave me alone."

"Susan, I am not going to hurt you," I desperately tried to tell her, but she wasn't having it.

"No! Just get away," she yelled as she swatted me away from her. I sailed several feet across the room and hit the wall on the other side. The impact hurt my head and my back and it caused me to fall to the floor. I tried to get up on my own, but the impact hurt me too much. Link, B.O.B Insecto and my husband all rushed to my side. As my vision came back into view and the pain decreased, I saw and heard Link yelling at Susan, "What is your problem?! You have no right to treat her like that. All she has tried to do since you got here yesterday, is be nice to you and you go and flick her away. You hurt her!"

"Yeah that wasn't cool dude," B.O.B. scolded her as well, although he still though Susan was a boy, "You didn't need to be mean to Mrs. C"

"Guys it's fine. Ow," I told them as I tried once again to stand up, "I'm okay. She didn't mean it. Did you Susan?" I started rubbing my head to get rid of the pain. My husband held me in a protective fashion and stared at Susan with a frown on his face. She looked at her hands and then me before covering her mouth in shock.

"Oh my gosh, I am so sorry," she exclaimed as she ran over to me, "You're right. I shouldn't have done that. Mrs. C are you okay?"

She gently picked up and held me in her hand at her face. Her big blue eyes looked full of shame and I guess she hoped that she hadn't just lost the one person, who has tried to help her. I smiled at her and hugged one of her fingers. I said to her, "I forgive you Susan. You knocked me for a loop that's for sure, but I will live. I'm part cockroach remember?"

"Um, I was wondering if...uh... you would want to eat breakfast with me," She timidly asked me, "I mean you don't have to if you don't want to. I guess I deserve it for smacking you into a wall and I'm sure you would be happier to eat with the others than some freakishly large stranger."

"Oh, pshaw, no. It's no problem Susan," I told her with a wave of my hand, "In fact, why don't we all eat with you at your table? There is more than enough room for all of us up there. Then after breakfast, you and I can have a little girl time together."

"That sounds nice," Susan said with a smile. She looked so sweet when I saw her smile. I hope that having breakfast together, will be a step in the right direction for all of us, since we are all trapped on the same boat so to speak. After the government had dropped all our food on our tables, Susan carefully picked up the table, set it and the chairs on her table close to her food. While we were sleeping last night, the government had apparently given Susan a large bowl for her to have her meals in, instead of just plopping her food on her table. My husband and I crawled our way up the legs of the table as we did yesterday with ease, as Susan lifted Link and B.O.B. up to the table to join us. Being curious, I looked into her bowl to see what she was going to be having for breakfast this morning, her food appeared to be oatmeal or at least it smelled like it with a hint of brown sugar and honey. As we ate our breakfast, I noticed that the wall to Susan's cell had been moved back to its place. That would be a perfect place for Susan and me to have some time to ourselves.

"Susan and I need to have a little girl talk," I told the guys, then I turned to Susan, "Susan let's go to your cell, since it is the only place you can fit, besides here. It will give us a little privacy while we talk."

She nodded her head and held out her hand for me to climb on. I held onto her thumb as she walked into a bleak, dark gray metal cell, which only had one tiny poster of a kitten hang from a tree entitled, "Hang in there."

_"This place could use a woman's touch or two. Big time," _I thought to myself as I looked around. I am definitely going to make decorating Susan's cell one of my experiments. I know I am not a genius like my husband, but I do have an artistic eye and this place could use some doing up.

"Wow," I said to her, "You would find more cheer in a graveyard, than in this place. Now I know why you were so upset earlier Susan, but don't you worry one bit. I am sure I can throw some things together that will brighten up this place for you."

"Aw thank you Mrs. C. That is really sweet of you to do that," She said with a bright appreciative smile on her face, "I would love to redecorate this place, but how are we going to do that?"

"Well, I will have to save some things from my meals to do it," I told her with a sigh, "But, I will only save the things that aren't too bad off." I added when I notice the look of disgust on her face when I mentioned using things from the garbage to decorate her cell. "You would be surprised what people will throw away and what items could still be useful."

"One man's trash is another man's treasure I guess," She said to me with a sigh, "I have a question to ask you Mrs. C. I was wondering what your real name is. I know the government assigned you Mrs. Cockroach or Mrs. C, but I want to know what your real name is."

"I would be delighted to tell you," I said to her, "My real name, before my transformation and capture, was Maggie Brown Tyson. Tyson was the name I took when I married Doctor Cockroach fifty-five years ago and on our seventh anniversary, I gave him this." I took off my family crest and showed it to her.

"It's beautiful, where'd you get it?"

"My mother gave it to me," I said to her. Then I told her all about the tradition on my mother's side of my family and about the teasing game, I played with Antony that day. She laughed at that and agreed with me about making it harder for him, if he was so curious.

"Wow, so you two have been married all this time? Well you definitely keep him on his toes Mrs. C."

"Oh, I've been meaning to ask you something Susan."

"Well go ahead and shoot. I'm all ears."

"What monster name did the government assign you?"

"Ginormica," she said with disgust.

"Wow, I think it is a nice name, but I think I will just keep calling you by your real name. Susan has a better sound to it."

"Thanks. I really don't care for my monster name, so I am just going to go by Susan no matter what they say. I really like your real name too. Is it ok if I call you Maggie or Mags?"

I started to cry a bit when she asked me that. I hadn't heard anyone call me "Mags" since I was captured. It brought back memories of my parents and all of Tony's and my old friends. I had come to cope with the fact that they would have died or would be really old about five years ago. Hearing Susan's request to call me by my nickname, made me feel the same love I felt when I was with them. I had forgotten how much I had missed that. She appeared to have noticed my crying because she lightly touched my cheek with her pinky finger to wipe them off and had brought me closer to her face. As she sat down on the floor to her cell, she said to me, "Mrs. C I am so sorry if I offended you. Please don't cry. I will just keep calling you Mrs. C if that's what you want."

I laughed and wiped the rest of my tears away from my face. "No Susan, you didn't offend me in the least. I would be honored if you called me Maggie or Mags. I was crying tears of joy because it's been years since someone has called me Mags. All of my old friends, used to call me Mags all the time back at our old home, and I guess hearing you call me that, it made me a little homesick."

"Um…exactly how long have you and Dr. Cockroach been here?"

"Fifty years today," I said while turning my wedding ring on my finger.

"WHAT! You mean to tell me that, you and your husband have been trapped here since the 1950s?! Away from everyone you know and you haven't seen them since?!"

"Well 1962 actually, but unfortunately, yes. I haven't seen my friends or my parents since my husband's and my capture. My parents are probably dead by now and all our friends are either really old or dead as well."

"That's terrible. Why haven't you or anyone else tried to escape this awful place?"

"Trust me, we have tried Susan, but they keep this place locked up tighter than Fort Knox. My husband has had many escape plans that have all backfired, and only one almost worked, but it also came with a price." I told her in despair.

"What do you mean Maggie?"

I got to my feet and spread my wings as far as they would go. She had to see for herself what the price of freedom could cost a person, if they don't think things all the way through. I just hope she sees for herself, the damage to my left-wing.

"Wow Maggie. Your wings are beautiful, I didn't notice before. But what do they had to do with… oh" I think she finally saw the ripped piece of my left-wing that was missing. Good, it would save me time of having to point it out for her. I let my wings down and turned to face her. She had her other hand covering her mouth and a look of horror on her face. She also looked like she was about to cry for what happened to me.

"Susan, Susan it's ok and it doesn't hurt when I fly."

"What happened to you Maggie," she asked me as tears escaped down her face.

I told her all about my husband's plan to make B.O.B. into a bomb, and how we used his new mind reading power to try to escape. I finished my story by telling her about the plane exploding. I also told her about how a piece of it hit my wing, which caused me to spend a month in recovery and another three months on flight restriction.

"Oh I am so sorry that happened to you Mags."

"So was I and still am. Doctor Cockroach felt guilty for weeks during our punishment. I was angry with him and Link, for about a week; since it was their fault, I got hurt. One of the things that my husband was planning on, as soon as we got out, was world conquest. It took that failure and my injury to get him to see reason and to give up his plans for that."

"Maggie, when did all this first start? I mean, how did you two get to look like this in the first place?"

I took a deep breath and started to tell her all about my husband's plans of giving humans the cockroach's ability to survive. She cringed at the idea but then asked me to continue. I told her of the time when I offered to help him build the machine that would make this experiment possible, and how long it took to get the components needed for the machine to work. Then I told her of when it came time to test the machine and my screaming Bloody Murder at my husband's transformation.

"I was really freaked out by his appearance Susan, but the moment I heard the concern for me in his voice when I fell. I realized that this thing was still, the man I loved and married all those years ago and I felt incredibly guilty for reacting that way."

"What happen next?"

"I told him that he had changed and he ran up the stairs to the mirror in the hallway to look at himself. When he saw himself in the mirror, he immediately became depressed and just went upstairs to our bedroom to go to sleep. Next morning, I came down and found him sulking on the couch with his face in his hands. This was a habit for him, when one of his experiments had failed. I don't know how long he had been down there, but it took an encouraging word from me to get him to cheer up."

"You're a good wife to him Maggie. He is a very lucky man to have someone as amazing as you in his life."

"Thank you Susan," I said to her and continued my story. I told her of my discovery of my husband's new diet and about the soldiers coming to take him away. I blushed as I told her of how I reacted to the news I would never see him again, and of my actions to the soldiers as they were driving away with my husband. The last thing I told her was of how I felt during his month-long absence.

"That sounds like how I acted and felt when they came for me yesterday. I felt hollow, scared and really depressed about not seeing my parents, friends or Derek again."

"So I was right about the wedding. You do have a fiancée waiting for you. I told him it was true."

"When did you become like this?"

"October 13th, 1962, a month after they took him away from me, I was cleaning and boxing up his equipment, when I noticed something. The soldiers had stupidly left his machine there for me to use one last time. I called my parents and friends, told them everything about what happened to my husband, and what I had planned to do in the future. They helped me get my affairs in order, and they stayed with me during and after my transformation, until the soldiers came to collect me. I came willingly of course, but only after learning my husband was still alive, said goodbye to my parents and friends, and left handcuffed and blindfolded with the soldiers to here."

"Wow. You are one brave woman Maggie. I can't imagine the guts it took to do something like that. Did you run into his arms after you saw him again?!"

"Uh…well, not exactly," I nervously said to her

"What do you mean 'not exactly'?"

"I became very self-conscious about my looks Susan," I told her, as I opened my locket, and took it off to show her the pictures of Antony and me, "This is what we used to look like."

As I held up the locket, she used one of her other fingers to angle it to get a better look. She squint her eyes and gave a big smile before handing the locker back to me.

"You two look like a very lovely couple. You look beautiful Maggie."

"I know, that was the problem. I was scared that if he saw me, like this, I would ruin the image of the wife he had remembered and he would reject me, if he saw me as this thing." I started to get tears in my eyes as I remembered those feelings. Susan padded me on my back with her finger and I went over to hug her thumb as she continued to comfort me.

"What you just said is ridiculous Maggie. I saw how he looks at you, both yesterday and today. The look in his eye, when he helped you up after I knock you into the wall, was not of a man who would reject his wife because of her looks. He loves you too much to even consider hurting you that way."

I dried my tears, smiled at her and said, "You know, Monger said exactly the same thing to me when I first got here. Then he threatened to hit my husband upside the head, if he did, on the outside chance, reject me. That cheered me up and gave me the courage I need to be with my husband again. When he and I saw each other, it was like he was back from the grave and I am not going to let him get away from me ever again. Thank you for your kind words Susan. Well, I've told you my story and now it's your turn to tell me yours."

"Ok, well yesterday morning, my friends came into my room at 5:00 a.m., took my picture in bed, and told me to turn on the T.V. right at that moment. When I did, I tuned into the news and saw Derek giving his weather report. After he finished doing the weather, he gave me a shout out on public television about our wedding that day and he told me he loves me."

"Aw that is so sweet of him. Doctor Cockroach would sometimes leave me little notes on his pillow that said 'Good Morning my love and 'I hope you have a wonderful day Maggie.'"

"Well, I got up and started getting ready for the wedding. When I was already, my mom, my bridesmaids and I got into the limo to go the chapel. When we pulled up, my dad was there to greet us and started to cry a bit for me, luckily he got himself under control as we entered the chapel. I greeted Derek's mom and discovered that on her right hand, one of her thumbs was short and stubby. Apparently, it skips a generation so any kids I have with Derek will have that as well."

"Well, even if they do have two different thumbs Susan, I am sure they would be great kids nevertheless. So anyway as you were saying?"

"Ok so I felt I needed some time to myself before the ceremony and I went out to the gazebo for some fresh air. As I was staring off into space, Derek came up behind me. I told him that I couldn't wait for our honeymoon trip to Paris and then I notice he had a worried look on his face. He told me that there was a change in plans and that we weren't going to go to Paris after all. I asked him where we were going to go and he told me that we would be going to Fresno for our honeymoon instead."

"WHAT," I screamed in rage at her, "What do you mean you weren't going to go to Paris?! You mean to tell me that he waited until he was supposed to marry you, thirty minutes before walking down the aisle, to tell you that the honeymoon plans had been changed?!"

"Yeah, I was pretty disappointed at that news so I asked him, 'In what universe is Fresno better than Paris Derek?'"

"Well he had better have a good excuse for pulling a stunt like that just moments before the wedding," I angrily told her while crossing my arms and returning to my seat on her hand.

"He said he got a call from someone at the news station there to be a new anchorman. He also told me that they wanted him to come in immediately after the wedding and the week we were supposed to spend on our honeymoon afterwards."

"A job," I asked her in disbelief, "You mean to tell me, he accepted a job overspending quality time with his new wife? I'm sorry Susan, but something doesn't sound right if a man chooses a job over his wife. I know my husband is a busy man too, but at least he put his work on hold to make me his number one priority on our wedding day."

"I know, but I told him that I was fine with it because the station in Fresno is like a top 55th market in the news industry. If he got the job, then eventually he would become a world's correspondent, and then I would get to travel all over the world with him. He and I are a team and whatever makes him happy, make me happy."

"Well, if you say so Susan," I told her skeptically, "I just know that if my man tried to pull a stunt like that with me, the wedding would have been off and my dad would have punched his lights out. However, it's your life and your relationship so it's not my place to say. Now what happened after that?"

"I told him to go to the church because it is bad luck for the groom to see the bride in her wedding dress before the ceremony, then I heard a loud sound coming from the sky. I looked up and I saw a huge meteor heading right for me. I tried to run out-of-the-way, but it land on me and I blacked out for a moment. The next thing I heard was my mother's voice looking for me. As I crawled out of the crater, I noticed that the meteor, which hit me, had disappeared and I was extremely dizzy. My mother helped me into the chapel, cleaned me and my dress up with some wet whips she had in her purse, handed me my bouquet and my dad walked me down the aisle to Derek."

"Well thank goodness you weren't hurt. What happened next?"

"That's when things really started to get crazy. I reached the end of the aisle and Derek pulled my veil over my head. He said, 'Wow, you're glowing.' I thought he meant that in a figurative sense, but apparently he meant that in a literal sense. I looked at my arm and notice that it was glowing green for a second and then I felt like my body was being stretched. I thought everything around me was shrinking, but it turns out it was me who was growing. I grew all the way up to the ceiling and then it really started to get tight in there. I had the same feeling as Alice did in Alice in Wonderland when she drank too much of that "DRINK ME" potion. Luckily for me, my dress had been stretched a lot but it still was able to cover most of me. Everyone, except Derek, fled from the chapel in a panic, even my own parents. I busted my way through the roof of the chapel and started looking for Derek. I found him trapped under a beam, which must have fallen on him when I went through the roof. I carefully lifted it off him and gently picked him up in my head like he was a doll."

"Was he okay," I asked her in concern.

"He was fine," she said, "He could still talk to me and move. Then they came and shot ropes on my arm causing me to drop him. Luckily, they were able to catch him with a net. They tried to put more ropes on me, but I keep fighting them, then I felt a sharp pain in the back of my left thigh."

"Wait, did they shoot you with a giant syringe full of orange liquid?" I asked in curiosity.

"I don't know, I didn't see what color it was because all I saw was an empty shot stuck in my thigh. I pulled it out and threw it back at the people who shot me. Then I started feeling dizzy again, felt them tie ropes around my legs and fell to the ground. The last thing I saw before blacking out was Derek's face. Then I woke up here and thought I was in bed with Derek on our honeymoon."

"Oh, Susan I am so sorry this happened to you," I said to her as I hugged one of her fingers, "No one should have ever had to gone through what you went through. I promise my husband and I will do everything in our power to get you back to normal. Whether you still want to marry Derek is up to you, however, let's just get you back to normal first."

"How do you plan on helping me?"

"We could have my husband take a look at you and try to see exactly what the substance is that made you grow in the first place. I don't know how long it will take, but you have to be patience Susan."

"I will try anything if it will get me back to normal."

"Ok let's go talk to my husband and see what he can do to help you."

She stood up from her spot and went to open the door that lead to the recreation and dining area where the others were playing cards. I climbed down to Dr. Cockroach to talk with him and Susan.

"So how did your chat go", he asked, "Everything all right?"

"Yes if fact," I informed him, "One of the topics of conversation that Susan and I discussed is what we can do see if we can get her back to normal. Do you think you can do it?"

"It will be difficult my dear," he said, but added at the last-minute when he saw Susan's disappointed face, "However, it is not completely impossible. Susan, I will try everything in my power to try to get you back to normal. Now if you will just wait over there by your table I will get some things I need to begin."

With that, he scurried his way to our cell to get his medical supplies that I convicted Monger to let him have, to continued his research in finding a cure for both of us. Susan sat down at her table and we waited patiently for him to return. When he came back, he had a syringe ready to take a blood sample from Susan.

"This will feel like a mosquito bite, so please try not to swat me while I do this please," he asked her, as I helped by rubbing the area on her wrist with a cotton ball full of rubbing alcohol. When I was done, he stuck the needle into her arm and drew enough blood. She flinched a little probably because of the "bite" as he called it, but thankfully she did smack either of us as a normal person would a mosquito.

"Is that all you need from me," she asked him.

"For the moment Susan," he explained, "I wouldn't be able to do anything else until I analyze this blood sample. For now try to do something to occupy your time until I call for you."

With that he left us to go analyze Susan's blood in our cell while Susan and I talked to each other. Then I went to our cell to ask Morger for a rake, I explained to him that I wanted to do Susan's hair, and I also asked him for a large amount of light blue nail polish in a bucket and the largest paint brush he could find so I could also give her a manicure. It took about fifteen minutes, but he was able to get me the items I requested. The first thing I did was to comb out Susan's hair, which was not the easiest thing to do due to the size and number of the tangles in her hair she had gotten from going two days without brushing it. That took about two hours to do but I finally was able to comb it out.

"Your hair is so beautiful Susan. I wish I still had mine, but that was one of the side effects of being half cockroach. I gained beautiful wings, but lost all my beautiful blonde hair."

"Well actually, my hair used to be brown so I am still getting used to the white hair. I don't suppose we could see about dying it back could we?"

"No, I'm afraid not. It would take too much stuff to color it back and I don't think that the substance in your body would be cooperative with the follicles in your hair. It could ruin it."

"Okay," she sighed, "I will just have to get used to being a platinum blonde for now until we get me back to normal. Thank you for doing my hair Mags."

"No problem Susan," I said to her as I prepared the bucket of nail polish to give her a manicure. "Now try not to move while I do this so I don't make a mess please."

The manicure took another two hours to do due to her nails being the size of the hood of an eighteen wheeler truck, but it was a lot of fun to do and to talk to Susan as well. It reminded me of when my girlfriends and I would go to get our nails and hair done. Susan said that she used to this with her friends too when she was smaller. I assured her that my husband was working on it now and that I was sure that he would find cure for her. By the time dinner came around, my husband was so exhausted that he fell asleep right at our table. Link and I helped him into our cell and said good night to the others. I took off his shoes and changed into my nightgown before settling in for the night. I hope that he can cure Susan, but at the same time try not to over work himself like always, but that is like asking water not to be wet. Downright impossible, but hopefully tomorrow will bring a brighter day.

TBC.

**I am sorry it took forever to get this chapter out to you. My laptop was down and I had a case of writer's block, but hopefully you enjoyed this chapter and I will try not to take so long to get the next one out since I got a new laptop. Please review and let me know what you thought of this new chapter. I do plan on finishing this story, so if I take a long time to get it done it; it is due to writer's block or some other inconvenience. **


	11. Chapter 11: Freedom at Last

**Disclaimer: I don't own Monsters vs. Aliens characters except Maggie/ Mrs. C. **

**Author's Note: This chapter tells of some of the experiments that Susan went through with Doctor Cockroach. The Missing Link and Insectosaurus mentioned in the movie that Susan had let Doctor Cockroach experiment on her for a month so here is a few of the experiments he did to her before the machine he built and used on her before they were released to go fight the Giant Alien Robot. I apologize to my readers for taking so long to get this out to you. I have not abandoned this story and I fully intend to finish it, I just have to get the rest of the chapters done and that takes time so please be patience with me. Now enjoy this chapter and please review to let me know what you though of it. :D**

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My poor husband. He has stayed up late for days trying to isolate whatever the substance in Susan's blood was and comparing it to the radiation found in Insectosaurus' body. The only thing he has found out about the substance is that there is nothing else like it on this planet.

"It's too bad that the meteor that hit Susan dissolved," He said to me in regret as he worked, "The agents at this Facility could have collected it and I would have been able to study it."

"Well what have you found so far," I asked him.

"Only that, whatever this substance is, it is pure energy. Some of the purist energy I have ever seen," He said with fascination in his eyes, "Whatever it is, it seems to have enhance her blood cells and made them reproduce at a much higher rate than that of a normal human being."

"Oh my gosh," I exclaimed at him, "That would explain why Susan is so big! This energy, or whatever the heck it is, has altered her blood and the muscles in her body and has enlarged them!"

"Exactly," Doctor Cockroach said to me in amazement, "Now that I have figured out how this energy had affect Susan. I just have to figure out a way to reduce Susan's blood cells to that of a normal person and her muscles will also follow suit."

"Well, besides figuring out what the energy is and what happened to Susan when she came in contact with the stuff, have you found out anything else that can help her," I asked hoping he had come up with something.

"I have been working on a formula that when I applied it to Susan's blood, the cells in the sample were reduced somewhat," He said while scratching his chin, "I would still like to do some more tests on it however before we try it out on Susan. She will have to be a bit more patience."

"Take as long as you need honey," I told him after hearing this great news, "But don't take too long. I don't know how she will react if this doesn't work and I don't want to get her hopes up too high, only to be shot down when things go wrong."

"Let's go give her the news then," he said as he walked pass me.

We found Susan trying to play "Go Fish" with Link and B.O.B. When we walked over to her, she held her cards between two of her fingers in one hand, smiled and waved to us. From the looks of it, it looked like Susan was going to win this hand because Link looked a little nervous for the first time in many years.

"Hey Link," I said to him. He jumped at the sound of my voice and the cards he had in his hand want scattering all over the place. I just laughed at that. It felt good to pay him back all the times he had done that to me over the years.

He glared at me while picking his cards and said, "Dang it Maggie don't do that! You almost gave me a heart attack."

"Kind-of different when the shoe's on the other foot isn't it hmm," I smugly asked him.

"HAHAHAHA, very funny. You're a riot Roach Lady," He sarcastically said to me.

"I know," I said to him, "But that's not the reason we came over to see you guys. Susan, Doctor Cockroach has some news for you."

"It's not bad news, is it," She cautiously asked with a worried look on her face.

"No no nothing like that," Doctor Cockroach said to her, "I found out that your body has a substance made of pure energy and that is why you are a giant. Whatever this compound is, it didn't come from Earth. I theorize that it came from that meteor that struck you. However, due to the fact that you said it disintegrated, I can't in fact prove that. So we will have to go with that conclusion."

"Okay," She said to him, "Well do you have any ideas of how to get this stuff out of me or to get me back to a normal person at least?"

"Unfortunately, this energy is integrated with your blood and I do not have the tools or the resources to extract it," he said to her, but quickly added when he saw the downward cast look on her face, " However, I have been working on a formula that when added to your blood, it should reduce the cells and in time will shrink your body back to normal. I still need to run a few more tests on it and then when it's ready I will apply to your body. I don't know how long it will take so you have to be patience Susan."

"Thank you Doc," She said to him.

It took the better part of five days, but it appeared that my husband had finished the formula that should Susan shrink in no time. I gathered the items he needed to inject Susan with the formula and carried them out into the dining area, up to Susan's table. Once Susan was seated, he proceeded to fill a syringe with the liquid. He also brought an empty one to take another sample for study later.

"Susan, I need you to lay your arm down, with the palm facing up if you please," He asked her, " I need to be able to get at a vein in your arm."

When she complied with his request, he and I crawled up her arm and he showed me which part of her arm I need to clean for him. I rubbed a few cotton balls full of rubbing alcohol on the section of the arm where the elbow bends for my husband. Once my work was done, he said to her, "Now this is going to feel like a mosquito bite, so please do try not to swat me." Then he did his mad scientist laugh while I rolled by eyes. When I saw the worried look on her face, I knew I had to say something to put her mind at ease.

"He's a mad scientist," I explained to her, "So he has a tendency to laugh like that on occasion when he is working on an experiment. Believe me when I say that I have tried everything to get him to stop laughing like that Susan." That seemed to calm her down a bit.

Then I turned and said to him, "Honey we've talked about this. Please stop laughing like that! It's unnerving and quite frankly, you're scaring the poor girl and me too, to be perfectly honest. It makes it hard to not doubt you, when you are laughing like an insane person."

"I'm sorry Susan," He said to her, "I have no intention of harming you in any way, shape, or form. I just laugh like that when I get really excited about an experiment."

"It's okay Doc," Susan says to him as she took a deep breath, "Just get on with it."

She winced as he injected her and she appeared to have held back the urge to swat him like a mosquito. Now all that was left for us to do is to wait for something to happen. Well, something happened all right, just not what we expected. Instead of shrinking Susan, like we originally thought it would do, it made her skin glow green for some unknown reason. When Susan looked at her arms, she screamed so loud that I had to cover my antenna's to my head the best I could. If I still had ears I probably would have done that instead. Of course B.O.B. was no help at all.

"Hey Susan, there's something different about you," He pointed out to her, much to her horror, "Did you change your hair? No. No that's not it. Oh is that new makeup? Wow you look incredible. That color really makes you shine."

I sighed, rolled my eyes and hit my face with my hand at his comment. Saying that was not helping us at all. "B.O.B.," I said to him, "That is not new makeup. She was supposed to shrink down to my height, not still be 49 ft. tall and glowing green."

"Why am I glowing anyway," She shrieked and started gasping for air and she continued her freak out, "I'm not going to grow again am I? Please tell me I'm not going to do that again. This is… exactly the same thing… that happened to me… on my wedding… day, so… I can't… handle… it… if I… grow… anymore."

"Hey hey just cool it," Link told her, "Take a deep breath and let it out slowly a few times. Breath in, Breath out. Breath in, Breath out."

She followed Link's instructions and soon she had finally calmed down. Once she was calm, Doctor Cockroach took another blood sample from her and hurried back to our cell to analyze it. I quickly followed after him to get the rake I used to comb Susan's hair. I thought that maybe if I did her hair for her, it would help defuse the situation we were currently having. When we came back to the make-shift workbench my husband made, we discovered that the old blood sample of Susan's he had taken was also glowing. As my husband went back to work, I grabbed the rake and returned to the dining area, only to find Susan huddled in a corner with her knees up to her chest. I broke my heart to see her in such a shape. I had hoped that Susan wouldn't get her hopes up too high, but now it appears that she did. I hoped that Antony find a cure for her soon, not just for the glowing skin she is currently sporting, but also for her returning back to normal.

"Susan, are you okay," I asked her.

"Other than the fact I am now a giant glowing green freak," She said to me in despair with tears running down her face, "I'm fine. Just fine."

"Oh Susan, "I said to her with sympathy, " If it makes you feel any better, I have to say, other than the fact that your skin is glowing, it doesn't look like your height has changed any."

"Really," She asked as she wipes the tears off her face.

"I'll prove it to you,"

I whistled and said, "Hey Insectosaurus Link. Could you both come over here and just stand right next to Susan. And Susan, could you stand up for a moment please?"

Insecto roared and started moving over to us and Link came running over to us as Susan got up off the ground. "What's up? Why do you need me?" He asked.

"Ok Susan," I said to her, "I want you to go stand right next to Insectosaurus. Link, I need you to translate what he says because I want to ask him a question."

"Ok I can do that," Link says to me," Ask away."

"Ok Insecto," I asked him, "Do you remember how tall Susan was when she first came here and before this experiment happened?"

He did three snorts and one short roar. And Link said, "He says 'Yes. She was as tall as my leg.'"

"And now how tall is she," I asked him, hoping that she stayed the same.

He did one long roar and Link translated, "Great news Susan, He says, 'You are the same height as you were before.'"

"See," I said to her, "I told you that you didn't have anything to worry about.

"Yeah I guess you're right," She said with a smile on her face, but it quickly dropped.

"Susan, what's wrong," I asked, "I thought you would be happy that you didn't grow anymore."

"I am happy that I didn't get any taller," She said, "I just realized that it didn't shrink me either. What could have gone wrong? I thought Doc had all the kinks worked out of it."

"Honestly Susan I am still puzzled about that," Doctor Cockroach told her as he appeared out of our cell suddenly, " When I checked on it thirty minutes ago before I applied it to you, it was fine, then when my wife and I came back, it was glowing the same as your skin. I guess I will have to scratch this idea and come up with something else to shrink you. But first I need to work on an antidote to get your skin back to normal."

"Well while you are working on that honey, "I told me as I took up the rake, "Susan and I will be in her cell."

With that Susan started to walk to her cell and I started to fly after her. I flew to her bed and when we were all situated comfortably, I got to work combing her hair. Her room was coming along nicely. It wasn't as dreary as it was when she first came here, but it still had a long way to go. I was now painting a mural on one of her walls as a sea-side painting thanks to Monger. When I explained to him that decorating the room a bit more would help keep Susan calm, he gave me permission to ask for anything I needed to decorate the place. As long as I didn't try to escape again, I could do whatever I wanted. I think that he thought that if I had a project of my own, I wouldn't feel so complied to try to help my husband to escape and we didn't know how strong Susan was, so he told me to do everything I could to keep her from trying to destroy the place, looking for a way out. Like I said, my husband maybe the most brilliant man in the world, but he always told me that I was a genius when it came to art and interior design of homes.

It took a full three days for my husband to come up with the antidote for Susan's glowing skin; unfortunately it seemed he wasn't any closer to get her back to a normal person's height than he was before. However, he was never one to give up on something and he immediately went back to work on his latest experiment. I just pray that one of them works, but looking back to his escape plans, this venture seemed to be like it could take years to get her back to normal and I don't know how she will cope in the meantime. She seems to hold out hope of being reunited with this Derek person and that seems to help her keep her sanity, but that was just for now. Well I can't ponder on these negative thoughts because I don't want her thinking something is wrong and that she is never going to be with Derek again. My husband and I made a promise to her and he is going to try his best to get her back to normal.

* * *

**Three Weeks Later:**

It has been a long and interesting three weeks. Ever since Susan joined us, she and I have become almost like sisters. And as her "big sister" it pains me immensely when she becomes upset. That usually happens when one of my husband's latest experiments on her fails. Which seems to be all the time now. Over the last three weeks, my husband has tried everything he can think of to get her to shrink. He has tried all sorts of shots, lotions, creams, pills and he even tried to make a shrink machine. That literally blew up in his face and got his toy box privileges taken again for a week. So with that as a setback, it's no wonder that Susan got a little depressed. I did my best to cheer her up and sometimes it would work; however, other days like yesterday don't seem to work out so well. On those days, Susan would just go back to her cell and even I couldn't get her to come out until the next day.

I am a little unsure about my husband's latest experiment for Susan. He explained to me that this machine he is working on, when hooked up to Susan, will send electrons to her body causing the cells and muscles to reduce down to normal.

"Wait, hold on a moment," I said to him, stopping him in his tracks, " You mean to tell me you are going to zap Susan with this machine and hope that she will be reduced back to normal? Honey, this is crazy! I love you and I have full confidence in your abilities as a scientist, but this is really pushing it. You are talking about giving the girl electric shocks; I don't think this is safe."

"Maggie, don't worry." He says to me with confidence as he gathers parts from our trash and attaching to his machine, "I have worked out all the kinks in it and it is going to work this time." He has that look in his eye right before he, right on cue, laughs maniacally.

I shake my head and say to him, "Okay the mad scientist laugh, not really helping me feel any better. If anything it's making me feel even worse about this idea."

"I told you," He explained, "Nothing bad is going to happen this time."

"Yeah that's what you said about that cream you used on her and she broke out into a bad rash which lasted for days. I had to put the antidote on her at least four times a day before it finally took effect. Please just promise me that you have this completely under control."

"I promise I have this completely under control Maggie, "He says to me holding his right hand up.

"Okay, this had better work," I tell him, though I secretly pray that nothing will go wrong this time.

He has Susan sit in her chair as he scurries over her face with three wires suction cupped to her brain. He mutters to himself as he runs over to B.O.B. and Link and borrows their radio antennas. They were playing cards and Link was cheating again with Insecto help. Insecto was looking over B.O.B. cards and stamping his foot three times. But B.O.B. is too brainless to notice the painfully obvious cheating move. When he put the two antennas in a toaster, he pushed a series of buttons and cranked up a crank he rigged up in the machine to help give it power.

"It's going to work this time. I'll show them, I'll show them all," He says to himself and then he laughs maniacally again.

"Doctor I would really appreciate it if you wouldn't do your "mad scientist" laugh while I'm hooked up to this machine," Susan nervously says.

"Honey, we just discussed this not two minutes ago," I shouted at him, "The girl is already nervous and that laugh of yours isn't helping!"

"Sorry sorry, Habits are harder to break," He said sincerely.

"Try harder," I growled at him.

Then we all heard a roar from Insectosaurus and he had a concerned look in his eyes.

"He says that this is the craziest thing you guys have ever thought of," Link translated and then added, "And I agree with him. Susan you've let that quack experiment on you for almost a month. This is nuts. It's time to stop before something really bad happens."

"I'm not a quack; I'm a mad scientist Link. There's a huge difference between the two despite what some people think," Doctor Cockroach yelled at him.

"What's the difference," He indignantly asked, "You're still nuts."

"A quack is someone who has no scientific training whatsoever and tries to practice something," Doctor Cockroach explained to him, "A mad scientist is someone who went to school to get his doctorate or Ph.D., like I did, and just went a little touch in the head."

"Oh you mean like you," Link shot back at him.

"Yes Link like him and I thought I told you not to call him that," I yelled at Link, "Or you need a reminder of what happened the last time you said that!"

"**Guys**," Susan shouted at us, "Stop fighting. Look Link I don't have any other choice. If there is a chance that this machine can shrink me or even make me 7 to 8 ft. tall then I can get out of here and finally be with Derek. Then after we are married we can go to…"

"Let me guess, Fresno," Link interrupted her.

"Yes. After Derek gets his job there, eventually he will get calls for a job at a news station in Milwaukie, then New York City and eventually…"

"He will get to be a world's correspondent and then he and you will get to go to Paris. Like you have been telling us again and again," Link said as he interrupted her for the second time.

"Through the switch Doctor," Susan tells my husband but quickly adds, "But please try not to do the laugh."

"Okay now you are going to feel a slight pain in your brain but it should last a moment. Mwah ha ha," he said as he started to laugh again but he quickly caught himself and said, "Sorry" Before pushing the leveler down on the toaster to start-up the machine.

As he finished pushing a few more buttons, he looked at Susan with a wild look in his eye. I watched worryingly as the electricity spread throughout Susan body and I could even see the electric currents running in her hair before she got completely shocked and passed out. She landed on the ground hard and she didn't seem to be moving.

"Susan oh my gosh," I shrieked as I ran to her and took flight to her face. "I had a feeling something like this would happen Doctor Cockroach! I told you this was a bad idea!"

"I thought for sure it would work," He said besides himself, "Susan. Come on my dear, say something. Can you hear me?"

"Oh great plan genius," Link yelled at him, "You've killed her. Perfect. You really went too far this time. This is worse than the time we almost escaped and you almost crippled your own wife. I hope you're proud of yourself."

"Doc is she going to be okay," B.O.B. asked in concern.

"I don't know B.O.B.," He regretfully says to the blue blob, "I certainly hope so."

Insect came over and looked over Susan in concern. He crooned and nosed her arm with his horn nose and licked her face to try to get her to wake up. I had tears running down my face. I hope that Susan wakes up because I don't know if I will ever forgive Antony if she's dead. Then miraculously, Susan starts to stir. I say, "Susan? Honey can you hear me?"

She groans and asks, "Am I small again?"

I let out a big sigh of relief and hug her face, and then I told her, "Unfortunately no Susan. I almost thought you died. Get off of her you guys."

She sat up and my husband told her with an awkward chuckle, "Actually it looks like you grew a couple of feet."

"WHAT," She shrieked.

"He means that your hair is standing up Susan, "I told her to calm her down and glared at my husband, "You wait here and I will fix that in a jiffy."

I raced back to get her rake comb and as while I was fixing her hair, she said, "Thanks Mags. Well Doc looks like we will have to try again tomorrow. Ouch!"

She said that because I accidentally pulled her hair after hearing her say that. "Oh no you don't. Both of you are going to cool it with the experiments for a good while."

"Finally some sense out of you," Link said to me, " I was beginning to think you were as nuts as your husband here."

My husband glared at him for that commit and said to me, "Maggie I made a promise to Susan to get her back to her normal height. You want me to quit?"

I fluttered down to face both Susan and my husband and said to them, "No I promised we would try to get Susan back to normal, but both of you don't seem to realize that Susan almost died. I love you honey, but sometimes you need to learn to take a step back. Like Link said, this is almost as bad as our almost escape and you saw how that turned out when you pushed too far. Susan, I realize that you want to get out of here, but you need to let your body recover from this. One more experiment too soon could kill you and then where would we be? Where would **I** be without you? I have already lost so many of my closest friends and "sisters." Please don't make me have to feel that pain again. Especially if there is something I can do to stop it." I had tears running down my face after I finished. Doctor Cockroach came over to comfort me and I reluctantly welcomed it and Susan laid a finger next to me so I could hug her too.

"Okay I will wait for a while Mags,"She said to me, "But I still hold out hope that Doctor Cockroach can get me back to normal."

"Oh will you give it a rest with the normal thing already," Link exclaimed at her, "Can't you get it through that big skull of yours, NO MONSTER HAS EVER GOTTEN OUT OF HERE!"

"Actually that's not true," B.O.B. smugly said to us, "The Invisible Man did remember?"

I winced at that memory. I had prayed that we would never have to mention that event ever again. Apparently, I didn't pray hard enough. My husband and Link also cringed at the mention of Invisible Man while Susan looked at us confused. She asked, "The Invisible what?"

"The Invisible Man," B.O.B. happily said to her, "He was a scientist too. However he made himself invisible with science and that's why he was captured. He escaped when the guards brought in Insecto. He just slipped right past them; man if we could do that, then we would have left a long time ago."

"Actually B.O.B. there's something about the Invisible Man we didn't tell you," My husband sadly said to him. He looked at me and Link and we decide it was time to tell him the truth and maybe it was for the best that Susan hears this for herself too.

"Yeah," Link said while rubbing the back of his neck, "We just told you that so you wouldn't get upset when we told you the truth. The truth is… he actually died of a heart attack 25 years ago."

"No! That's not true is it Mrs. C," He desperately asked me with tears in his eye. I knew he would react like that so I had to tell him the truth as painful as it was.

"Yes B.O.B. It's true," I told him with my head lowered, "I was the one who found his body. I tripped over him when I went to check on him, call Monger and he and a group of people carried his body out to be buried."

B.O.B. sniffled and whimpered and I hugged him the best I could so I wouldn't get sucked into his body. "It will be okay B.O.B. Shh, It will be okay. Please don't cry." I told him as he cried on my shoulder.

"Why did you guys wait until now to tell him," Susan angrily asked us, "Didn't he deserve to know the truth about his best friend?"

"Yeah, but we knew this was how he would react and we didn't have the heart to tell him," Link said to her, "We are sorry we kept this from you B.O.B. but we didn't want to hurt your feelings by telling you that."

"It's okay Link," B.O.B. said while softly smiling at link, "I get why you did it and I guess I would have done the same thing if Insecto died."

"Thanks pal," Link replied and then he turned to Susan and said, "You see now Susan. No one is ever going to leave this place alive."

He turned to go back to his game when Monger showed up in a jeep and yelled, "Hey, great news Monsters. You're finally getting out of here!"

We all turned to look at him with our eyes and mouths wide open and Link said, "Until today for some reason."

**TBC**

**Author's Note: I am stopping here for suspense and hopefully it wouldn't take me as long to write the Giant Robot battle scene. But please review let me know what you thought of this chapter. :D**


	12. Chapter 12: Fight in the City

**Disclaimer: I don't own the characters of the Monsters vs. Aliens movie, I am just borrowing them. DreamWorks Animation Company has that right, but Maggie/ Mrs. C is mine so that's great news. Now enjoy this new chapter.**

* * *

We all heard him say that we were finally leaving this place, but I just couldn't believe it.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," I said to Monger, after I found my voice again, "What do you mean 'We're getting out of here'? You better not be pulling a joke on us Monger, or so help me."

"Easy there," He said to me as he held up his hands in surrender mode, "I meant every word of what I just said. You, your husband and the rest of y'all are getting out of here today."

While Susan and B.O.B. were excited, the rest of us were still suspicious. There was still something about this that screamed "catch" because they wouldn't have spent the last 50 years keeping us locked up, just to suddenly want to release us. I looked at Link and then my husband and they too had skeptical looks on their faces. So I decide to discuss this little attention to detail.

"Ok Monger," I said to him and then asked while crossing my arms, "What's the catch? You don't honestly believe that we wouldn't be the least bit suspicious of this sudden release do you? There's another reason you decide to release us after 50 years of containment isn't there? Come on, out with it!"

"Unfortunately, yes Mrs. Cockroach," Monger confirmed, "Actually the safety of our entire country needs your help. Possibly even the world."

"I knew it. I knew it, there's always a catch to these things," Link said while throwing his arms up in the air, "Okay so what exactly is the problem that you need us?"

We all followed Monger onto a movable platform, which took us to the hanger where they kept the jumbo jets. While we made our way through the corridors, he told us the reason for our sudden release. "According to the reports I have received on this matter, last night a giant alien robot crash landed in an orange grove, several miles outside the city of San Francisco. A couple of teenagers saw the thing crash-land and in a panic alerted our military and air forces. Even the President was there to establish peaceful communication with the robot. Then the robot tried to squash him and as it rose up out of the crater, it almost stepped on him. Then the President gave the order to attack and all our forces opened fire on the robot with bullets, grenade launchers and target seeking missiles."

"I presume that their weapons had no effect on the robot," Doctor Cockroach asked.

"Unfortunately, you are correct Doctor Cockroach," Monger continued, "Even the President tried to shoot it with his own gun, and the robot ate the bullets. After that; the secret service got him quickly back on his chopper and got him to a safe bunker. According to them, as I walked into their meeting, the robot has been making its way to the city of San Francisco. I told them my idea of using you monsters to go fight this thing and hopefully you can destroy it before it causes permanent damage to the city causes people to get seriously hurt."

"So let me get this straight Monger," Link skeptically asked him, "We are supposed to fight a giant alien robot by ourselves?"

"Affirmative Link," Monger said to us while getting into a jeep, "And if you are successful in your mission, the President has authorized me to grant to your freedom."

"You're serious," I asked him with hope in my voice, "We destroy this thing and we get our freedom back?"

"Yes Mrs. Cockroach," he said to me, "You will get your freedom back provided you destroy the robot."

"Oh thank you. Thank you. Thank you," I squealed at him while giving him a big hug.

"Uh, ma'am? Would you minding letting go of me please and putting me down?" He asked as I had, in my excitement, picked him up and out of the jeep.

"Oh so sorry," I said as I returned him, "I am just excited to finally be leaving this place."

"That's all right ma'am. I understand. Now you," He said while pointing at me, then the others, "Missing Link, Ginormica, B.O.B, and Doctor Cockroach all get on this jet and we will be on our way."

"Wait, what about Insecto," Link anxiously asked, "We're not going to just leave him here are we?"

"No, of course not," Monger explained, "He's just too big to fit into the jet. He will have to follow us on foot to our destination."

"Ok, that makes sense," Link replied after he let out a breath of relief.

With that the ramp to the jet closed behind us. It was a little cramped for Susan, but she finally got herself situated as comfortable as possible. We still couldn't believe that we were free, even if we do have to fight a giant alien robot. I wonder how big this thing is. Is it the same size as Susan? I hope it's not as big as Insectosaurus, if it is, then we are going to have trouble just staying alive in order to destroy it.

"I can't believe that we're free," Susan said to us really excited, "Soon I will be back in Derek's arms he'll be in mine."

"Yeah and I can't wait for spring break back at Coco Beach," Link said with his hands behind his head, "It will be great to freak everybody out again and then I will have the entire beach and the ocean all to myself."

"Guys, I know you are really excited to finally being out of the Facility," I told them trying to sound realistic, "But don't forget that we have a job to do first. We still have to destroy this giant robot somehow and we don't even know how big this thing is in the first place."

"Well hopefully it's not any bigger than I am," Susan said to me. I could tell she was trying to get me to see the bright side of this, "I mean, I think I could handle something about a couple feet tall than I am, but if it's Insectosaurus's height, then I don't know if I could fight something that big."

"Well I think you could handle it just fine Susan," my husband told her, "With your increase height and muscles, you could the strongest human on the planet."

"Really," she asked him in amazement.

"Well after all this is done," B.O.B. said to us trying to join in the conversation, "I plan to go back to my lab and finally finish my experiments."

"Um, that's me B.O.B.," My husband corrected him.

"Fine then, I will be a giant woman," B.O.B. said while demonstrating.

"Um, that's me B.O.B.," Susan corrected him.

"Ok, I got it! I got it," he said, "I'll go back to Modesto and be with Derek."

"Yeah, that's still me B.O.B.," Susan told him.

"Hey! I think I at least deserve a chance to be with Derek," He said loudly to us. After that we pretty much ignored anything he said during the rest of the plane ride.

It took us about an hour to reach our destination, but they finally landed the plane. When the ramp was lowered, Monger yelled, "All right monsters! Let's move out!"

The sun was bright and warm. There wasn't a cloud in the sky and the wind that was lightly blowing felt great. I hadn't felt the sun on my skin since our almost escape 25 years ago. This was almost pure heaven. I couldn't help taking in a deep breathe of fresh air. It smelled like it had recently been raining and it smell heavenly. I could definitely get used to this world again.

"I can't believe I'm back in San Francisco," Susan happily shouted, "My home isn't that far from here."

"Do you fill the wind on your antennas Maggie," Doctor Cockroach sighed happily, "Isn't this wonderful? We haven't been to the City by the Bay for years. Doesn't look like much as changed has it?"

I sighed and enjoyed the feeling of the wind on my skin, antennas and my wings as I unfurled them. I said to him, "This feels wonderful honey. The buildings are a bit more modern, but that's progress I suppose. Other than that, you're right, not much seems to have changed."

"Yeah, it's great, but I have yet to see a single person or car here," Link noted, "It also feels a bit hotter than I remember. Has the Earth gotten warmer? Sure feels like it."

"Well that proves that global warming isn't a myth or a hoax," Doctor Cockroach said while writing down what Link just said.

However our thoughts about the condition of the planet changed when we felt the ground shaking. We turned to look and there, emerging from a cloud of smoke, was the giant alien robot. That thing was huge; it had two short, but powerful legs, big arms with massive claws for hands, and one huge blue eye in the middle of its head. It seemed to be making its way towards us up the expressway. Monger was the only one of us that was impressed by its size.

"Wow, now that's a robot," he said as he was getting back into the jet, "Try not to damage it too much monsters. I might want to take it back to the farm. I'll be monitoring you from the sky. Good luck."

"No, no wait," Susan cried out to him, suddenly very scared, "You didn't tell us how huge that thing was going to be. Don't leave us here."

As the jet took off, we felt very much exposed, especially Susan, because that robot was the same size as Insectosaururs. This was going to be a problem. I couldn't help but feel intimidated by this thing. Now I knew what a cockroach felt like when it encounters a human. In fact, the bug side of me was screaming at me to flee, but the human side was telling me to fight. Then we saw a bright blue light shining from the robot's eye. I think that light was a scanner of some sort.

"I think it sees us," B.O.B. said to us, pointing out the obvious, then he turned and said to the robot, "Hello hi, how you doing? Welcome to Earth. We are here to destroy you."

"I can't fight that thing. I…can't…even…I've…never," Susan gasped, "I'm …hyperventilating. Does…anyone…have a…giant…paper bag?"

"Hey, hey Susan, Susan relax," Link calmly told her. "We've got this under control. Just breathe deep breaths like I told ya. Breathe in, breathe out."

After she succeed in calming herself down, my husband told her, "Go hide in the city Susan. You should be safe there. Oh, but stay away from the Tenderloin, it's a little dicey!" He added that last bit as a way to light the mood.

Once Susan took off toward the city, the rest of us turned our attention on the robot. "Finally some action, I'm going to turn that oversized tin can into a really dented oversize tin can," Link gloated. Soon the robot started to gain some speed toward us and his courage faltered a bit, "Okay, um does anyone know when Insectosaurus is supposed to get here?"

As the robot got closer and closer to us, B.O.B. absent-mindedly pointed it out, "Wow would look at the size of that foot?"

"Watch out," I cried as Link, my husband, and I jumped out-of-the-way before it stepped on us. B.O.B wasn't so lucky, thankfully he's indestructible. As we watched the robot walk away, we could hear B.O.B. say to us, "Don't worry guys I got him. Don't worry I would let go, I'm wearing him down," as he was stuck on the bottom of the robot's foot, like a piece of chewed-up gum. As the robot made its way to the city, Link, my husband, and I picked ourselves up to follow it.

"Get to the city Link," Doctor Cockroach ordered him, "Maggie and I will catch up with you as soon as we can."

"All right," Link said to him as he forced out a sewer lid and dropped into the hole.

Then something caught my husband's eye. I turned to look at what he was looking at and saw a tow truck with a busted up trolley attached to it. Then my husband started getting that insane look in his eyes when he has an idea.

"Honey," I cautiously asked him, "What are you thinking?"

"I am thinking that I have just found us a faster way of getting to the city, my dear," He said to me with a somewhat sinister look in his eye as he scratched his chin. Then he did his mad scientist laugh.

"Now, I am going to need your help in getting the items to repair this trolley and getting it to work," He instructed me.

It took about ten minutes for him to fix the trolley. He and I had constructed some jet rockets on the sides of the car made of giant fans and other such parts. I went to start-up the engine and my husband yanked the keys, I found to the trolley, out of my hands. I knew this wasn't going to end well so I felt I had to say something.

"Um, sweetheart," I cautiously asked as I boarded car, "Maybe I should drive."

"Nonsense," he said to me as he turned it on, "You might want to sit down and hold on!"

No sooner had he said that, when he stepped on the acceleration and we went spending down the expressway toward the robot and downtown. I was thrown into a seat and was screaming the entire time he was driving. This is why I always did the driving back at our old home. My husband is a lead foot when it comes to driving anything. But this time I couldn't deny that speed was important in this matter. Luckily for us the city was deserted, so we didn't have to worry about some cop pulling us over for speeding or any innocent bystanders getting in the way and getting hurt. I yelped as he made a sharp turn to the right and we went barreling down one of the steep hills that San Francisco is famous for. Occasionally, the trolley would hit a bump or a dip and the trolley would be launched up into the air. Then the trolley would rattle as it touched the ground again. When the trolley did that, it made my teeth chatter and my body jerk all over the place. Further ahead, I saw, what looked like Link coming up out of a manhole in the middle of the street.

"Honey, slow down! You're going to hit Link," I urged him.

Unfortunately, he didn't slow down in time and Link got picked up by our trolley and was plastered on the windshield.

"Get in," my husband yelled at him, "I have a plan!"

As I was helping Link into the trolley, I noticed my husband moving his hand to a small red button on the dashboard. Before I could object, he already pushed it and if we weren't going fast before, then we certainly were now. That button started the makeshift jet rockets on the sides of the trolley and it threw Link and me back into some seats again. As we went speeding down the hill, my husband let out one his mad scientist laughs again. I rolled my eyes at that. On the next street we turned, we saw the giant robot smashing its way through some buildings and down the street to the bay.

"Ok you two; here's the plan," my husband instructed us, "I'm going to pull up alongside it. Maggie, you take the wheel, while Link and I try to get to its central processing unit and then …"

He got cut off by B.O.B. because he yelled for us to catch him and he launched himself off the robot's foot and into our trolley. When he did that, he caused all of us to get stuck in him on the back wall of the trolley. When the trolley reached the end of the hill, it crashed through a wooden fence and we all ended up in the bay. B.O.B. floated to the surface of the water while the rest of us had to swim. Link helped my husband and I get to shore. I coughed up water as soon as I got back on the shore. Doctor Cockroach was rubbing my back as means to comfort me as my lungs burned from the water getting in them.

"Hey are you ok Maggie, "Link anxiously asked me.

" Yeah, thanks for helping me get to shore Link," I said to him as ran my hands over my antennas to dry them off. My husband did the same thing. As I flapped my wings really fast to dry them off, I notice that the robot jumped into the bay and started making its way towards the Golden Gate Bridge. I also noticed something else; Susan was on that bridge and for some reason that robot was only after her.

"Guys, that thing is headed for the Golden Gate Bridge," I yelled at them, "And it's after Susan for some reason!"

"How are we going to get over there," Link asked me.

I looked around for a minute to find us something that could help us get to the bridge, and then I spotted an abandoned car on the side of the road. The others followed me as I climbed in. Whoever last owned this car took the keys with them. I hit the steering wheel in frustration.

"What's up," Link asked me as he and B.O.B. climbed into the backseat, "I thought we were in a hurry? Let's go!"

"There's no key Link," I snapped at him.

"Not a problem, my dear," Doctor Cockroach said as he started to pull some wires out of the dashboard, "Connect this blue wire to this one and we are ready to go."

Then the engine roared to life. After we all buckled our seat belts, I punched the accelerator. It took us ten minutes to get to the crowd on the bridge. By the time we got there, people were fleeing back towards the city on foot, and the robot was trying to attack Susan. Luckily for her, Insectosaurus was there and he spit some silk on the robot's eye to blind him. It worked and I watched as Insecto leveled out the bridge. We got out of the car and made our way through the cars and the people who were shrieking as we approached them or walked pass them. One woman got out of her car, screamed when she saw Link and quickly got back in. Link rolled his eyes and slammed her door. We had to run the rest of the way and he was breathing rather heavily when we got to Susan and Insecto.

"Hey you big hair ball," he said to Insecto, "Where you been? We were wondering if you were ever going to get here."

Insecto snorted and then gave one long, loud roar back at him.

"Yeah, yeah I know," Link replied to him while stretching, "I'm out of shape. I shouldn't have cheated on my weight exercises."

"Excuse me, a little help here, "Susan shrieked at us, "This thing is trying to kill me! Why is it doing that? I've never…"

She got cut-off by the robot because one of its claws came down hard on her.

"Susan," I screamed and started to run to her.

Then Susan reappeared through the metal claw and slowly started to lift it off of herself. I had a feeling that Susan was strong, but I never imagined that she would be that strong. She was lifting that metal claw over her head, just as easily as a normal person would open the truck or the hood of a car. We were all amazed at her strength, B.O.B. said to her, "Wow look at you! You're doing great!"

"I'm doing everything," She shouted at him, "I could use a little help here!"

"You got it," Link said to her, "Come on guys, this thing's going down!"

Link tried to ram the robot, but some sort of shield knocked him silly and he came staggering back to us before falling unconscious.

As my husband and I picked him up to move him out of harm's way, my husband sighed and shook him head.

"What just happened," I asked him, as we slowly set him down gently, because I was confused. I saw something flash when Link hit it, but I don't know what that was.

"The robot's deflector shield is still on," Doctor Cockroach explained to me, "I'm going to have to go in there and turn it off if we have any hope of destroying this thing."

"Will you need my help," I asked as he started running towards the robot and Susan.

"No, you stay out here and help get these people to safety," He called out to me as he crawled up Susan's arm to the claw of the robot, "Don't worry, love. I'll be back."

Before I could object, he was gone.

"_I hope he doesn't get himself hurt_," I thought to myself, then I felt the bridge start to move.

The robot's arm crushed part of the bridge and all the cars and people started to slide towards the water. Susan missed the first car, but she managed to block the others with her foot. I dived off the bridge and rapidly flew towards the falling car. I was afraid I wouldn't reach the people in time. As soon as I opened the doors I said to the couple in there, "Grab onto me! It's okay, I wouldn't hurt you. Hurry!" The couple were terrified of me at first, then they grabbed onto me when they realized I was there to help, and I managed to get them both out of the car four seconds before it hit the water. Since my almost escape, I had been working on carrying people as I flew, so holding onto these two was no trouble for me. They were still a little shocked about what just happened and what could have happened, not that I blame them. I flew them back to the other side of the bridge where the other people were evacuation to and set them down gently.

"Are you both all right? Are either of you hurt," I asked,concerned that one of them might have been injured as I pulled them out.

"No, we are fine," The man said as he held his wife to him, she said to me, "Thank you for saving us miss."

I smiled, relieved that they were both okay, and waved to them as I flew up to go help the others with the robot. As I was flying back to the bridge, I notice a lot of cars heading in the direction of the couple I just dropped off. As I made it back, I noticed that B.O.B. was eating the traffic dividers so the cars could get to the other side.

I also noticed that the robot was shining its blue light right in Insectosaurus' face and that he seemed to be hypnotized by it. I saw General Monger had come to help us by trying to get the remaining people to go back to the city, as well as a woman trying to get past him. She was calling for someone and kept trying to get past him and other soldiers with very little success. I flew up to see if there was anyone else on the bridge and what I saw made my heart stop. There was a little girl, probably five or six, dangling on the edge of the bridge by one hand. I flew over and caught her just before she fell and held her to me before I took her over to her mother. The mother happily took her child from me and said, "Thank you so much." "Thank you butterfly lady," the little girl said to me and waved goodbye as she and her mother left with the others. I waved back with a smile and turned to help Susan.

"Ginormica," Monger called her, "The bridge is clear, if you are going to destroy that thing, you have to do it now!"

"Ok I understand," she said to him, then she said out loud to herself, "Ok, ok Susan, you can do this."

As she started to reach for the cables on the arms of the robot, I suddenly realized we were missing someone. My husband wasn't here.

"Where's Doctor Cockroach," I frantically asked Monger.

"I don't know ma'am," he said to me, "I thought he would be with you."

The blood in my body went cold when I realized that he must still be in the robot somewhere. The robot that Susan was about to destroy any minute.

"Oh god," I said as I started to fly towards the robot, only to feel Monger holding onto my leg, "He's still in the robot Monger. I have to get him out! Let me go!"

"That is a negative Mrs. Cockroach," He told me as he tried harder to pull me back down, "You'll never get to him in time. I am ordering you to stay here, do you hear me?!"

"NO,"I yelled at him and kicked him off of me. Once he was back on the ground, I flew towards the robot. I could faintly hear him yell at me, "Maggie Brown Tyson, I am ordering you to come back here!" I ignored him and flew to an opening near the head of the robot. I flew through a series of tunnels, until I came to huge room, on one side was the eye of the robot, through which I could see Susan fighting and on the other side, passed out was my husband. I gasped, flew down to him and shook him a bit to get him to wake up.

"Antony wake up! Come on, please," I yelled at him. He groaned a bit and I put his arm around my shoulder to help him up. I turned to look through the robot's eye and saw Susan move to the left quickly and the ground fast approaching us. Soon as I realized that it was the ground I flew as fast as I could back the way I came in. Just as I made it out of the robot, part of the bridge came down where we were five seconds ago, and decapitated the robot. The rest of the bridge fell into the bay. As I watched the whole scene play out, Doctor Cockroach yelled out in a bit of surprise at seeing himself in the air, but realized how he got there when he saw me. I smiled at him and set us both down on some safe and stable ground, before giving him a big kiss. Link was finally waking up and complaining about a massive headache he was having. Then I saw Monger marching over to us not looking happy.

"Mrs. Cockroach, what were you thinking," he yells at me, "You could have been killed!"

"What," Doctor Cockroach asked in confusion, then realization dawned on him as he turned to me and asked, "Maggie did you go into that robot to get me, just before it was about to be destroyed?"

"Whoa, wait a minute, back up;" Link said as he snapped out of his headache, "Maggie went into that thing before it hit the water to get the Doc out?"

"Yes. I was thinking 'my husband is in trouble. I have to help him,'" I told them, "I was more concerned about getting my husband out while there was still time."

"Wow, Maggie that was really brave of you," Susan said to me, "But that was also really dangerous. Don't scare me like that again please?"

"Maggie, "Doctor Cockroach sighed, hugged me and said, "I am extremely grateful that you saved me. Please don't think I'm not. But Monger and Susan are right. I couldn't stand it if you got yourself killed trying to get to me. If we are trapped somewhere and you have just seconds to get to safety, then you go and don't come back for me."

"But Antony," I started to argue, but was cut off by him holding up a hand to stop me.

"Promise me," he said to me while holding my chin to look him in the eyes.

"I promise," I sighed. I know it's wrong to lie to those you love, but if he thinks I am going to follow through on that promise after over fifty years of marriage, then he's got another thing coming. He smiles and kisses me again. As we turned to look down at the wreckage of the robot and the bridge, a couple of questions fill my head. "_Why was this thing after Susan? Who sent it here in the first place? And more importantly, is this really over or not?" _

* * *

**TBC.**

**I apologize to my readers for making you wait so long. Writing the battle scene was harder than I thought. But hopefully it was worth the wait. Please review and let me know you enjoyed it. **


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